Within the previous week, Operation Delta Safe personnel have reportedly retrieved 578,900 litres of stolen crude oil, 454,330 litres of unlawfully refined automotive gas oil, and 10,000 litres of dual-purpose kerosene, according to the Defence Headquarters.
DHQ added that it had demolished 50 illicit oil refinery locations in the Niger Delta and taken 51 people into custody.
Major-General Edward Buba, the Director of Defence Media Activities, informed reporters of this on Thursday in Abuja during a briefing on military activities.
In addition, 245 dugout pits, 31 boats, 69 storage tanks, one tricycle, 23 vehicles, 162 cooking ovens, one pumping equipment, and three outboard engines were destroyed by the army, he claimed.
He claimed that on November 14, in the Cross River local government area of Akpabuyo, the army killed a prominent criminal and retrieved one handgun made in the area.
Jereymusa.com reports that six people were taken into custody when troops using hybrid forces attacked the alleged drug dealers’ hideaway in Delta’s Isoko North Local Government Area on November 15.
“On November 17, the marine part of Operation Delta Safe carried out a search and rescue operation in response to a distress call regarding a missing motor fishing vessel, MFV AFKI, flying the Cameroonian flag and bearing the registration numbers UK12 and AFKI 8432780.
“Marine component located and contacted the vessel 17 nautical miles off Pennington terminal following frantic surveillance.
“There were two foreign crew members on board when the vessel was recovered,” he stated.
According to Buba, the forces in the South East military killed a well-known criminal, eliminated six criminals as part of Operation UDO KA, captured 14 suspected IPOB/ESN members, and freed two hostages who had been abducted.
He continued by saying that among other things, the soldiers found a motorcycle, two cell phones, a double barrel gun, a pump action gun, a locally built pistol, and six rounds of 9mm ammunition.
He said that all found objects, detained suspects, and freed hostages were turned over to the appropriate authorities for additional handling.