The Nigerian Navy has recorded another major breakthrough in its ongoing anti-crude oil theft campaign under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, recovering 92,660 litres of suspected illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) concealed within the Rivers, Bayelsa border corridor.
The seizure underscores the Navy’s sustained efforts to disrupt illegal refining activities and protect Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta region.
In a statement, the Director of Naval Information, Navy Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, said that acting on credible intelligence, personnel of Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) SOROH were deployed to Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State. Aerial surveillance and follow-on search operations subsequently led to the discovery of about 138 sacks containing suspected illegally refined AGO hidden under vegetation and at various locations along adjoining waterways.
According to him, the operation highlights the growing use of concealed creek-side storage points by criminal networks involved in the illegal petroleum.
Navy Captain Folorunsho said that the recovered products were subsequently handled in accordance with extant regulations, denying economic saboteurs access to resources intended to sustain illicit activities.
The Nigerian Navy remains committed to sustaining intelligence-driven operations aimed at disrupting crude oil theft and illegal petroleum distribution networks across the Niger Delta.
