The Nigerian Navy has excavated and dismantled oil equipment of a suspected oil syndicate on Oil Mining Lease-18 in Elem Krakama Creek in the Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The Navy said it dismantled the equipment used in siphoning crude precisely on Oil Well 17 operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship Pathfinder, Commodore Suleman Ibrahim, said the Navy spotted the illicit activities by its patrol helicopter on July 11, 2023.
Ibrahim, who led newsmen to the site on Saturday, said the discovery led to the dismantling of the multiple pipelines buried in the ground.
He also said four suspects, engaging in the illegal oil bunkering, were arrested in a separate incident.
He said excavation was done in collaboration with the NNPCL, and expressed shock at the level of expertise deployed by the suspects.
Ibrahim stated that such massive oil theft could not be done by as amateurs, saying the syndicate were sophisticated people with expertise.
