The Defence Headquarters says troops of Operation Delta Safe have deactivated more illegal refining sites, recovered large quantity of stolen products in Niger Delta within three weeks.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, said this while briefing newsmen on the operations of the armed forces in the last three weeks on Thursday in Abuja.
Onyeuko said the troops had continued to clamp down on the activities of oil thieves and other criminal elements in different parts of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers respectively.
He said the troops discovered several illegal refining sites with 133 ovens, 194 metal tanks storage, 127 dugout pits, five wooden boats, 12 receivers, two engines, two pumping machines and five trucks among other things.
He said a total of 7.7 million litres of crude oil and 10.8 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) were recovered within the period under review, adding that the recovered items had been handed over to the appropriate authorities for further action.
the defence spokesperson further said that troops of Operation Dakatar Da Barawo, also discovered and destroyed several illegal refinery sites with 145 ovens, 201 storage metal tanks, nine pumping machines.
Other items according to him, are one Yamaha 40HP outboard engines, 55 dugout pits, 58 drums of AGO, two wooden boats, 100 polythene bags illegally refined AGO and one tanker loaded with illegal refined AGO.
“Cumulatively, within the weeks under review, a total of 1.7 million litres of AGO, 3.8illion litres of crude oil, 350,000 litres of sludge, 20,000 litres of PMS and 100,000 litres of DPK were recovered.
“All arrested criminals and recovered items were handed over to the appropriate authorities for further actions,” he said.
Recall that more than 100 lives were lost when an explosion occurred at one of such refineries in Imo state two weeks ago.