Eagle-eye operatives of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, at the weekend arrested 12 crew members, 11 Nigerians and a Ghanaian, on board a vessel, Milandros, used for illegal oil bunkering at Bonny Anchorage of Rivers State, have been arrested by men of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta code-named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’.
Eagle-eye operatives of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta, codenamed Operation Pulo Shield, at the weekend arrested 12 crew members, 11 Nigerians and a Ghanaian, on board a vessel, Milandros, used for illegal oil bunkering at Bonny Anchorage of Rivers State, have been arrested by men of the Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta code-named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’.
According to the spokesman of JTF; Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the vessel, Milandros, was intercepted close to the west bank of Bonny Anchorage, where a six-inch diameter hose over a distance of 1,000 metres from the vessel had been connected to pipeline.
He also disclosed that the lead agent of the syndicate, Tumini Brown absconded from the Island on hearing of the arrest of the illegal oil bunkering vessel, , stated in a statement in Yenagoa on Sunday.
“Efforts are ongoing to track down the lead agent, Mr. Tumini Brown, who absconded from the Island on hearing of the arrest of the illegal oil bunkering vessel.”
Also, another vessel, EBBA, belonging to PWS Integrated Service Limited, operating on the waterways without relevant registration documents was arrested on the Bonny anchorage with eight crew members on board and was laden with 282 tons of suspected illegally distilled diesel.
Giving a further insight into the operations that led to the arrests, JTF Media Coordinator, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said that operatives of 146 Battalion Anti-Oil Theft patrol team, covering the Bonny axis of Sector 2 Area under the Command of Lt. Col. Lander Saraso, arrested the 12 crew members, made up of 11 Nigerians and a Ghanaian on board the vessel, MILANDROS for illegal oil bunkering in the Bonny Anchorage in Rivers State.
“At the time of arrest, the vessel which was registered to sail under flagship of Sierra Leone was flying a Nigerian flag to deceive security operatives and was anchored at the west bank of Bonny Anchorage, where a 6-inch diameter hose over a distance of 1000 metres from the vessel had been connected to pipeline.
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