Crude oil theft: security operatives intercepts boat carrying stolen crude in Delta
A vessel carrying over 600 barrels of stolen crude oil from illegal bunkering in Warri, has been intercepted by Tantita Security Services in partnership with the military operatives who carried out the destruction in Delta state.
TSSNL is a security consultant engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to secure crude oil assets in the Niger Delta.
The military carried the barge 20 miles off the coast of Warri and destroyed it, with thick clouds of black smoke filling the atmosphere, in spite of the protestations by journalists against the move, given the expected environmental impact.
TSSNL linked the illegal operation to Mawe Services Limited, a corporate entity approved by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to render services within the confines of lifting sludge.
The security firm owned by former agitator, Chief Government Ekpemupolo popularly known as Tompolo and Mason Engineering, received an intelligence indicating that the facility was being used for activities outside its approval limits.
According to the Executive Director, Operations and Technical, Tantita Security, Captain Warredi Enisuoh, said further intelligence revealed that a 1,000-metric-ton barge was berthing alongside its jetty, loaded with illegal crude oil declared as sludge.
The barge was said to have been towed by an unidentified tugboat into Mawe Services Limited’s jetty and left. A team of operatives with the security outfit reportedly continued to monitor the jetty for suspicious activities.
Enisuoh stated that a sewage truck with number plate JR7750XA was observed to have visited the jetty twice. The truck was accosted during its third visit on Friday, by the operatives who was keeping a constant vigil over the area.
The inspection carrieed out, according to the operatives, showed the substance found inside the tank was not sewage, but crude oil. The driver was arrested and handed over to government security operatives.
According to Capt. Enisuoh, the driver, in his confession, disclosed the destination of the contents, and took the security operatives to an inland yard still operated by Mawe Services Limited, where two metallic cylindrical tanks with a capacity of about 45,000 litres each were found.
Both tanks were inspected and one had been filled up with crude oil. The driver of the truck reportedly confirmed that he had been transferring the content of the barge into the tank that was filled.
The inspection of the yard security logbook showed that the truck visited the location continuously and the content of the truck were boldly written as “crude oil”.
According to Enisuoh, the illegal tapping of crude oil has drastically reduced and the crude oil thieves have now resorted to tampering with well heads to steal crude oil.
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