——Says Nigerian Navy remains committed to protecting critical national assets and sustaining coordinated operations aimed at securing the nation’s maritime and littoral environment from economic saboteurs.
The Nigerian Navy has uncovered a network of dugout pits and storage locations containing large volumes of products suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil in the Ndoni area of Rivers State.
This was disclosed in a Monday statement signed by Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, the head of Naval Information.
According to the statement, the operation forms part of the Nigerian Navy’s intensified efforts to disrupt the operational cycle sustaining crude oil theft and illegal refining activities in the Niger Delta.
The statement revealed that the operation conducted by personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER, under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, uncovered the illegal site, which was a reactivated refining camp following an earlier enforcement operation.
The statement reads, “The operation, conducted by personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) PATHFINDER under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, targeted criminal infrastructure believed to have resumed activities after earlier enforcement actions within the area.
“At the site, naval personnel uncovered a network of dugout pits and storage locations containing large volumes of products suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).”
Preliminary assessment indicated that approximately 184,000 litres of product were stored across the illegal refining cluster.
The statement stated that the latest development highlights the evolving pattern of reactivation tactics employed by oil theft syndicates and reinforces the need for sustained pressure against economic sabotage across the Niger Delta.
The statement added, “Rather than isolated criminal activity, illegal refining operations increasingly rely on interconnected supply, storage, and distribution systems designed to evade enforcement and regenerate after previous disruptions.
“Current operations under Operation DELTA SENTINEL are therefore focused on systematically dismantling these support structures and denying criminal networks the operational environment required to sustain illicit activities.”
“The illegal refining sites and recovered products were subsequently neutralised in accordance with operational procedures, while surveillance and follow-on operations within the general area remain ongoing,” the statement concluded.