The management of Darlon Oil and Gas Limited in Bayelsa State, said it has impounded 10 speedboats and apprehended 19 suspects while transporting illegally refined petroleum products on a creek connecting Olugbobiri community to the River Nun in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune while handing over the 19 suspects and 10 speedboats to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Yenagoa, chairman of Darlon, Chief Levi Wilson, hinted that its task force recovered two Yahama 75 engines and eight Yahama 115 engines during the operation that took place about 5:19 a.m. on June 7.
Wilson, who recalled that Darlon had recently sent a message of caution to speedboat drivers operating under the umbrella of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) to check the use of their boats for transportation of illegally refined petroleum products, also appealed to the commandant of the corps to ensure that the suspects face the full wrath of the law.
According to him, the company earlier sent out the message of caution to MWUN because they saw it as a necessary step to stem the tide of pipeline vandalism and bunkering activities in the creeks.
Wilson restated the fact that since wooden boats are too slow to beat surveillance efforts of its task force, artisanal crude oil refiners have resorted to the use of outboard engine speedboats to transfer illicit petroleum products in batches on the waterways.
He also warned that the aiding and abetting of pipeline vandalism and illegal crude oil refining activities had impacted negatively on the people and environment of the Niger Delta region.
The Darlon Group chairman further cautioned that speed boat drivers caught in the act of encouraging transportation of illegally refined crude oil products would be henceforth made to face the wrath of the law.
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