JTF arrests 46 suspected oil thieves in Bayelsa

Men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta region, code-named Operation Restore Hope, have arrested 46 suspected oil thieves, including three women, in Bayelsa State.

The suspects were operating in huge local wooden boats referred to as Cotonu boats.
Reports said they were nabbed on Sunday by a patrol team of the JTF along the Nun River in the Akassa axis of Brass Council Area of the state.
At the time of their arrest, the suspects were trying to discharge their consignment of illegally refined petroleum products into a ship, MV Omiesam, an International Maritime Organisation IMO vessel with registration no 7048611
The 'Cotonu boats' were carrying about about 700 drums of illegally refined petroleum products which translate to about 187,500 litres of adulterated fuel.
The vessels and their consignment were impounded and taken to Government jetty in the Ovom suburb of Yenagoa, the state capital.

However, the Captain of the impounded vessel MV Omiesam, who gave his name as Fidelis Roland in an interview, explained the circumstances of their arrest.
He said: "Our company identified as Geo Fluids Marine Ltd sent us to Brass to load AGO and on getting there, we have not started loading before we were arrested by the soldiers."
Parading the suspects on Sunday in Yenagoa, the media coordinator of JTF, Lt Col Timothy Antigha, said the "suspects, who were nabbed by our patrol teams along the River Nun in the Akassa area, were in the process of loading this vessel with illegally refined petroleum products.
"Presently, the oil vessel is detained at the Government Jetty, in Yenagoa."
"The intercepted vessel has a crew of eight and the other 38 suspects were found with 13 'Cotonou boats' and one speed boat that had been anchored beside the vessel, with the intention of loading it with the illegally refined products.
"The 13 Cotonou boats contained about 13 GP Tanks of various capacities, ranging from 500 ltres to 1,000 litres, including numerous plastic drums that were already filled with petroleum products".
Antigha said that such products were sourced from stolen crude oil or vandalized pipelines and subsequently processed in a crude manner.
"These suspects have contributed in no small measure to the destruction of the nation's economy and the environment," the spokesman said.
Antugha said the JTF would not relent in its efforts at ensuring adequate security for the country's oil facilities and installations.
NAN