The Nigerian Navy has destroyed an illegal oil refining hub within the mangrove creeks of Obotebe community in Burutu local government area where they discovered a large-scale crude oil being processing site.

The illegal refining camp believed to be one of many operated by oil thieves in the area, was dismantled and destroyed on the spot.

Commodore Abdulazeez Zubairu, leading the command, said the operation saw a tactical deployment of 14 naval personnel aboard two gunboats and one speedboat.

He said the Nigerian Navy remained committed to maintaining zero tolerance for oil theft, illegal refining and all forms of economic sabotage.

According to Commodore Zubairu, the successful raid is in line with Operation Delta Sanity II, a strategic anti-crude oil theft mission initiated by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.

“This latest operation reflects our ongoing efforts to enforce maritime security and protect national assets. The era of unchecked crude oil theft is over. We are dismantling these criminal networks one site at a time.

“Items recovered from the site include one 1.5 horsepower Yamaha engine, one power generator, six pumping machines and two rolls of industrial hoses,” Zubairu said.

He advised host communities to support the Navy’s operations by shunning oil theft and providing timely intelligence to security agencies as a renewed offensive against crude oil theft and environmental destruction in the Niger Delta.