NSCDC Uncovers Illegal Refinery in Rivers’ Thick Forest
Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has uncovered another illegal bunkering site were stolen crude oil are channeled to a thick forest in Umuedeokwara Community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, where they are refined.
A press statement yesterday by the National Public Relations Officer of the NSCDC, Afolabi Babawale said the NSCDC Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CG’SIS) uncovered another illegal bunkering site where stolen crude oil was tapped, channeled to reservoirs and refined locally in a thick forest at Umuedeokwara Community, Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.
He said the CG’s SIS Commander, Deputy Commandant Appolos Dandaura, hinted during a media briefing that the squad acted based on sustained intelligence, which revealed that a gang of criminal elements was operating an illegal refinery at the crime scene.
Dandaura said: “Like we always reiterate that our operations are intelligence-based and we value every piece of information and preserve the integrity of our informants; we swung into action, combed the entire forest and discovered where the suspects were refining crude oil locally after storage in large trampoline reservoirs and further packaged them in cellophane bags and sacks.
“These unscrupulous saboteurs connected fabricated and galvanised metallic pipes to the trunk lines of multinational oil pipeline installations with inserted valves; the suspects, however, took to their heels through the creeks due to the terrain upon sighting our men.
“The following exhibits were marked at the crime scene: about 20,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) stored in cellophane bags, large quantities of siphoned crude oil stored in tarpaulin reservoirs, different sizes of aluminium and plastic buckets, galvanised metallic Fabricated pipes, heavy-duty industrial hoses and items of clothing belonging to the suspects.”
Appolos said that the matching order of the Commandant General, Dr Ahmed Audi on the need to smoke out illegal bunkers and effect massive arrests for possible prosecution, frustrate their continuous efforts to sabotage the economy and to increase oil production in the nation; would always be carried out by the squad, adding that “the fight against illegal dealings in petroleum products is without compromise as the CG’SIS will not rest in combating the menace of crude oil theft across board.”
