The Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Pulo Shield, in Delta State has arrested 11 suspects for stealing 134 drums of petroleum products and siphoning oil from a pipeline belonging to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Acting on a tip-off, JTF troops deployed in Omadine, Warri South Local Government Area were said to have intercepted a trailer carrying the products.
The trailer was conveying 50 drums of illegally refined Automated Gas Oil (AGO), 49 drums of crude oil and 35 drums of sludge.
The soldiers reportedly arrested three suspects and impounded the vehicle.
The Media Coordinator, Lt. Col. Mustapha Anka, said the troops also apprehended two suspects at Aziza Junction in Okpe Local Government Area.
He said the suspects were conveying a 400-litre container in a Mitsubishi Gallant car.
Col. Anka said substances suspected to be illegally refined AGO were found in the container.
“Both the vehicle and the products were set ablaze; the suspects are in custody before being handed over to a prosecuting agency,” he said.
The spokesman confirmed that six of the suspects were arrested while illegally siphoning products from an NNPC pipeline at Okwagbude Community in Okpe Local Government Area.
