In a decisive blow against economic sabotage, the Nigerian Navy has dismantled a clandestine fuel distribution network in Rivers State. The operation, executed under the banner of Operation Delta Sentinel, focused on the Okrika area and led to the discovery of a hidden warehouse in Okochiri Kingdom. Naval personnel found 410 drums filled with approximately 123,000 litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) suspected to be illegally refined.
According to Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, the Director of Naval Information, the raid was part of a sustained campaign to disrupt illicit petroleum activities. The seized products are believed to have been transported from illegal refining sites and stored for sale on the black market. This discovery underscores a worrying shift as criminal networks move from open refining to concealed storage and distribution methods to evade authorities.
The Navy has handled the confiscated items according to standard anti-theft protocols, and surveillance continues in the region. The operation reinforces the Navy’s commitment to protecting national assets and curbing the economic losses caused by crude oil theft and illegal refining. Under the Chief of the Naval Staff’s vision, the Navy remains relentless in denying saboteurs any operational space in the Niger Delta’s maritime and littoral zones.