- JTF shuts down 40 illegal refineries in Bayelsa
- No suspects were arrested as they fled but four trucks were captured for investigations
A Joint Task Force unit in the Niger Delta, code-named Operation Pulo Shield, have shut down 40 illegal refinery camps in the Southern part of Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Lieutenant Colonel Mustapha Anka, who is the Coordinator, Joint Media Campaign Centre of the JTF, said yesterday in Yenagoa, the state capital that the camps were fished out due to proactive intelligence gathering on the activities of the illegal oil bunkers and oil looters in Niger Delta.
He said:
“Troops of JTF have shut down 40 illegal distillery camps along Alkini Kalatoro, Lagosbene and Epelene creeks in Southern Ijaw council of Bayelsa State, where oil thieves operates with 21 Cotonou boats, 78 dumps and 154 plastic drums filled with substance suspected to be stolen crude.”
“Both the sites and the items were destroyed. No suspect was arrested during the operation. Troops had already been deployed in the general area.”According to Lieutenant Anka, troops of the Sector 1, anti-illegal bunkering squad of the special security apprehended and arrested four trucks heavily loaded with products suspected to be illegally refined products and crude oil along Akpokoka Waterside in Koko, Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State.
He aslo added that the vehicles are currently in the custody of the JTF for proper investigations.
Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which is one of the biggest in the country, is regarded as the hub of illegal crude oil distilling business in the Niger Delta.
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