14 June 2012, Sweetcrude, PORT HARCOURT – THE Joint Military Task Force (JTF) operating in the Niger Delta, otherwise known as Pulo Shield has arrested 33 suspected oil thieves in Rivers and Bayelsa States, acting spokesman of the JTF, Captain Sunny Samuel, has said.
Samuel told journalists Tuesday at the Bori Camp in Port Harcourt that the suspected thieves were arrested by the task forcein five different raids between June 1 and 10.
According to him, 32 of the suspects have been handed over to the Civil Defence Corps for possible prosecution while the corpse of one of the suspects, who died after exchange of gunfire, has been handed over to the police.
He stated that 17 suspects were arrested when men of the JTF raided the area and facilities of oil thieves along Borokiri shoreline in Port Harcourt last week, while 16 others were arrested in Bonny area of the state.
A total of 772 drums of automotive gas oil or diesel, 15 surface tanks and 150 empty drums were destroyed during the raid, he said, adding that 12 illegal refineries, 121 cooking points as well as 137 jerry cans with content were also destroyed.
“I want to tell you that the crackdown is on-going. As long as we receive information we will swing into action until we rid the Niger Delta of oil bunkering,” Samuel said.
