Personnel of the Nigerian Navy deployed for Operation DELTA SENTINEL have discovered a concealed illegal fuel storage site containing approximately 11,800 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) in Rivers state.
This was disclosed by Director Naval Information Nigerian Navy Abiodun Folorunsho in a statement on Friday.
According to the statement, the discovery was made by personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER during ongoing operations against crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering within its area of operation.
It said, “Acting on the discovery, the Base Anti-Crude Oil Theft Team confirmed that the concealed site contained 125 sacks laden with products suspected to be illegally refined AGO.”
The operation exposed another covert storage point believed to have been used to stockpile illegally refined petroleum products pending onward distribution, highlighting the continued efforts of criminal networks to sustain illicit fuel trade within the Niger Delta.
It added that the recovered products were handled in accordance with extant anti-crude oil theft procedures, effectively denying economic saboteurs another logistics node supporting illegal petroleum activities.
“The successful operation underscores the Nigerian Navy’s sustained efforts to identify and dismantle the infrastructure that enables crude oil theft and illegal refining. By targeting concealed storage locations and disrupting supply networks, the Service continues to degrade the operational capacity of criminal syndicates while safeguarding Nigeria’s critical economic assets.
“The Nigerian Navy remains committed to sustaining intelligence-driven operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL to combat crude oil theft, disrupt illicit petroleum distribution networks, and protect the nation’s maritime environment,” the statement reads in part.