Police operatives attached to the IGP Special Task Force on Petroleum and Illegal Bunkering (IGP-STFPIB) on August 7, 2022, successfully busted an illegal petroleum refining operation in Edo State.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement, on Sunday, September 11, 2022, said the arrest follows the interception of intelligence on activities of an alleged illicit petroleum products refining syndicate operating adjacent to Agbor Junction, Benin City, Edo State via a whistle-blower through the recently created Nigeria National Petroleum Company’s (NNPC) Command and Control Centre Portal.
According to the statement, during the raid on the illegal petroleum refining site, three empty DAF Trucks, and 31 immobile surface tanks – seven of which were loaded with an unspecified quantity of petroleum products, were discovered by the Police.
Additionally, two suspects, Chinedu Iyanabor, aged 18, and Sunday Iyagbesun aged 52, were arrested during the raid. Preliminary investigations reveal the site was also used as a dump site for petroleum products.
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has tasked special enforcement units to prevent activities of economic saboteurs to ensure the deployment of necessary manpower and other operational assets to ensure a total clampdown on criminal activities detriment to the economic growth of the nation.
The IGP has similarly supervised the strengthening of the Unit with a charge to intensify efforts, in conjunction with local police officers, to sustain police-approved operational standards in tackling economic sabotage, crimes, and criminality in the country.
He equally charged the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Unit to embark on strict supervision of the Unit in compliance with the directives.
All suspects will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigations.
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