The Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta code-named Operation Pulo Shield, on Monday said it arrested 608 suspected oil thieves in 594 raids carried out between January and June.
The JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa that oil theft was consequently on the decline.
He said, “So far, we have carried out 594 illegal oil bunkering patrols, and several arrests have been made.
“In the two quarters we are talking
about, we have scuttled about 748 illegal refineries within the region
and we have impounded 24 sea-going vessels; we equally arrested 133
barges involved in oil theft.
“And 861 giant open wooden boats popularly referred to as Cotonou boats have been scuttled over this period.
“About 910 large surface tanks which oil thieves use in illegal refineries to reserve the crude have been scuttled.
“We have taken into custody about 608 suspects who are involved in oil theft and other related cases.’’
On the rate of oil theft, which
reportedly led to the shut-in of 190,000 barrels per day production in
Bayelsa, Nwachukwu said the JTF was making a positive impact.
The spokesman said, “Of course, we stepped up our operational activities and I assure you that oil theft now is going down.
“Two major pipelines were shut down and
before these pipelines were shut, our patrol troops had reported
breaches on these pipelines.
“And if the oil companies had reacted in
time to these reports, the breaches would have been clamped, and it
would not have resulted in the shut down of the pipelines.”
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