Page 26 - Nigeriaone mag 3 edition en
P. 26

med that the security operatives
             also  recovered  110,100  litres  of
             Automotive  Gas  Oil  (AGO),  39.5
             million  litres  of  crude  oil,
             650,555  litres  of  Dual  Purpose
             Kerosene (DPK), 330,000 litres of
             Premium  Motor  Spirit  (PMS),
             375,000  of  sludge  and  65,000
             litres  of  Low  Pour  Fuel  Oil
             (LPFO).
             This  strategy  of  catching  crude
             oil  thieves  and  pipeline  vandals
             unawares  has  made  some  mo-
             dest  success  in  driving  the
             crooks  and  criminals  from  the
             sea, following the interception of
             oil vessels that have illegally loa-
             ded stolen oil products, and the
             arrest of suspected illegal bunke-
             ring operators.
             As  the  activities  of  these  illegal
             perpetrators  became  more  sop-
             histicated,  they  resorted  to  ope-
             ning  one-stop  shops  in  these
             illegal  refinery  sites  that  allow
             their  crooked  clients  to  come
             with  buckets,  kegs,  drums  and
             clearly   designed   waterproof
             boats   to   purchase   diesel,
             kerosene, bitumen and crude oil
             in commercial quantities.
             The  new  modus  operandi  was
             crucial  in  devising  the  strategy,
             the  Chief  of  Naval  Staff  (CNS)
             Vice-Admiral   Ibok-Ete   Ibas
             (retired) with the consent of the
             President  Muhammadu  Buhari
             in  launching  the  Swamp  Buggy
             Operation.  The  operation  inten-
             tionally devised a surprise tactic
             that saw the deployment of gun-
             boats  with  armed  security  ope-
             ratives  to  the  rivers  and  creeks
             in Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta State
             where these criminal gangs ran
             their  illegitimate  business  em-
             pires  with  the  sole  purpose  of
             disrupting,  dismantling  and  de-
             molishing their illegal activities.  President Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Navy

             Focus                                                                                        26
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