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No fewer than 14 persons have been arrested by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, for allegedly stealing crude oil in Abia State.
The development was disclosed in a statement by the NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, on Wednesday.
Afolabi said the suspects, including nine males and four females, operated an illegal refinery in a forest at Umelehi, Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State.
He attributed the successful arrests to credible intelligence provided to the Corps by well-meaning Nigerians.
“Our operatives were strategically positioned due to the quantity of already siphoned crude oil which were loaded in locally fabricated cooking ovens for refining into Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
“Some had been refined into Kerosene and AGO with both stored in GP tanks, cellophane bags and many sacks,” he said.
Afolabi pledged that a thorough investigation would be carried out to ascertain the level of involvement of the suspects.
Generator sets, pumping machines, hoses, galvanised metal pipes, shovels, head flashlights, cellophane bags, and bags of cement were recovered from the suspects, according to the NSCDC spokesperson.
