Navy-impounds-barge-120000-litres-illegal-crude-arrests-17-oil-thieves

– A barge containing 120,000 litres of illegal crude has been impounded in Port Harcourt by the Nigerian Navy

– The Navy has also apprehended 17 suspected oil thieves

– The thieves have been handed over to the NSCDC for further prosecution

A barge containing about 120,000 litres of alleged illegal crude oil has been impounded at Elem Kalabari in Akuku Toru Local Government Area of Rivers state, by men of the Nigerian Navy.

According to Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral James Oluwole, who disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday, October 13, crew members of the barge escaped. Oluwole added that more House boats would be set up on the waterways to enhance sea patrol by men of the Navy.

He said that the barge was impounded on Wednesday by his men on sea patrol, adding that the choke points strategy adopted by the Navy was yielding commendable result in the fight against oil theft, Vanguard reports.

He said: “Naval troops manning our maritime security stations (house boat) on Wednesday around 2a.m., intercepted and impounded a metallic barge laden with about 120,000 litres of crude oil suspected to be stolen. “Troops were unable to arrest crew members on board the barge as they fled the scene on sighting advancing naval gunboats.

“This interception is a testament to success of our choke point strategy which involves positioning of troops on flash points for quick response to situations.

“This strategy and other security measures recently put in place curtailed spate of attacks on oil and gas installations, piracy and other criminality in our maritime environment.”

In a similar vein, Officers and men of the Navy in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom state, yesterday handed over 17 suspected oil thieves to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for prosecution.