The Nigerian Navy Ship PATHFINDER, operating under Operation DELTA SENTINEL, has recorded another significant breakthrough in its ongoing campaign against crude oil theft and associated economic sabotage activities in Rivers State.

During an anti crude oil theft patrol conducted earlier today within the Okrika general area, naval personnel uncovered and dismantled a clandestine black market fuel storage and distribution network suspected to be linked to the sale of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

The operation led to the discovery of a warehouse situated in Okochiri Kingdom, Okrika Local Government Area, where 410 drums were found, collectively containing an estimated 123,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO. The facility was reportedly being used as a major storage and aggregation point for illicit petroleum products.

Preliminary findings suggest that the products were transported from illegal refining sites outside the community and subsequently stockpiled for redistribution through concealed supply channels targeting black market operators within and beyond the state.

The discovery reflects an emerging trend in which illegal petroleum operators are shifting from visible refining sites to concealed storage depots and organised distribution networks designed to evade ongoing security surveillance and anti theft operations across the Niger Delta.

Following the seizure, the recovered products were processed in accordance with established anti crude oil theft procedures. Surveillance and follow up operations are currently ongoing within the general area to identify additional links within the illicit supply chain.

Operation DELTA SENTINEL continues to focus on dismantling the broader logistics infrastructure supporting crude oil theft, illegal refining, and petroleum trafficking networks across the Niger Delta region.

The Nigerian Navy reaffirmed its commitment to sustained intelligence driven operations aimed at protecting national economic assets and denying criminal elements operational space within Nigeria’s maritime and littoral environment, in line with the strategic vision of the Chief of the Naval Staff.