ABA-
Soldiers of the 14 Brigade, Ohafia, stationed at Owaza, Ukwa West Council area,
Abia state, have recovered a truck with 50,000 litres of stolen crude oil at
Umuebulengwu community.
According to Vanguard, the oil thieves had loaded the truck with Registration
number, XD 531 KHE, at the river bank in Ohando community from where they
abandoned it at Umuebulengwu area.
Conducting newsmen round the area,
Commanding Officer, 14 Brigade Ohafia, Brigadier General Lawrence Fejokwu,
displayed a storage tank, wooden boats and hosepipes which the vandals laid
through the river bank to the sea where they are believed to have sourced the
crude oil.
Brigadier Fejokwu who was represented by the Operations Officer,
Forward Operation Base, FOB, in the area, Captain Ishaya Banki, attributed the
discovery to the success of the operation Crocodile Smile and commended the efforts
of residents of the area who alerted soldiers to the activities of the vandals
at the river bank.
According to him, “T he hoodlums laid a pipe from the source
where they were siphoning the crude from the sea to the bank of Ohando water
front, using a pumping machine to pump the crude into the waiting truck.
When
we got the information, we swung into action. But by the time we got to this
waterfront they had already moved the truck and smartly covered their track.
But with the help of the villagers and our intelligence, we were able to trace
the truck to this village (Umuebulungwu) and have been guiding it since
yesterday.
The Army is grateful to some residents of this area who tried to
inform about the activities of oil vandals.
What happened was that their
vehicles got bogged down along the road. It was a night operation.
“We are
however making arrangements to tow back the truck to safety and awaiting
further directives.
So far, from our investigation, we believe the crude in the
truck is about 50,000 liters and efforts are ongoing to track the owner of the
truck.”
He warned the Army is determined to eliminate oil bunkering and pipe
line vandalism which had caused much harm to the nation’s economy, stressing
that anybody caught would face the full wrath of the law.
Vanguardngr
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