SHOCKING DISCOVERY As Joint Taskforce Uncovers Illegal Refinery Operating In Anambra

A Joint Task Force comprising the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Chief of Defence Staff Committee on Vandalization, Sunday, June 22, destroyed tons of crude petroleum after uncovering alleged illegal refinary operated by one Transtell Company and Envoy Group in Onitsha, Anambra state.

Personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) through intelligence, stormed the facility with other security agencies, and subsequently evacuated the crude petroleum after discovering what appeared to be illegal refinary run within the premesis of the company where vegetable oil is also produced.
The joint taskforce, thereafter, moved truck loads of the crude to a safe place – within the second Niger Bridge area – where it was destroyed to serve as deterrent to others who might want to commit similar crime.
In an interview with newsmen during the exercise, spokesperson of the joint taskforce, Assistant Commandant Chinweze Chinenye, who is the O/C Operation, NSCDC, Anambra state command, said that the factory, Transtell Company and Envoy Group, located at No. 20 GMO road, Atani Industrial Layout, near Onitsha, pretended that they produce palm carnnel and veritable oil etc; but that when the JTF stormed the premesis, it was discovered that the factory also operate what could be called illegal refinary within the facility.
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“They said that they produce veritable oil, palm carnnel oil and others, but at the back of the factory, we discovered crude and refined low density oil in very large quantities. That proved that they also run illegal refinary,” he said.
Chinweze, who represented the Anambra state Commandant of NSCDC, Mr. Maku Adekunle, said though no arrests were made, yet, investigations would continue until they arrive at the root of the matter.
Meanwhile, the Chief Security Officer of the Transtell Group, Mr. Ralph Njoku, has denied the social media report which claimed that soldiers from the 302 Artillery Regiment, Onitsha, molested and threatened to kill staff of the company, and also took away the company’s vegetable oil products worth two hundred million naira (N200,000,000).
While speaking with journalists that visited the company on Sunday, June 22, the security officer expressed surprise, saying that such information did not emanate from the company, as such thing did not happen in the organization.
He said, “I was surprised when I came across the news that personnel of the Nigerian Army invaded our facility and carted away with our products worth millions of naira. Nothing like that happened in Transtell factory.
“What actually happened was that personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in the company of other security agencies, evacuated and destroyed the crude found in our company. That evacuation of suspected crude was monitored by the company’s security men, including myself, who is the Chief Security Officer.
“The joint taskforce did not do it alone. Besides what I’ve just said, nothing in Transtell factory was tampered with; nobody was molested, and no facility was vandalized. The social media report was, to say the least, mischievous, misleading, damaging and untrue.”
More on this story, the Nigerian Navy has discovered an illegal refinery site with two large Alkylation tanks laden with stolen Crude Oil and illegal refined AGO in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
In its update on Monday, the Navy said its troops under the codename ‘Operation Delta Sanity’ discovered the site on Sunday.
“The facility has been sealed and handed over to the Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corps for further investigation,” the Navy said.
The discovery followed Saturday’s deactivation of an illegal refining site with one dug-out pit, a refining tank and metallic drums discovered in Bonny, Rivers State.
Navy troops were said to have discovered several sacks laden with large amounts of stolen crude oil and illegally refined AGO also in Bonny.
Since the launch of Operation Delta Sanity on January 24, and subsequent review 11 months after, a total of 808 illegal refining sites has been discovered and deactivated.
A recent statistic of its operations by the Navy showed that its troops arrested 76 vessels and destroyed 2,411 dug-out pits and 5,421 storage facilities across the nation’s oil-producing region.
Operation Delta Sanity has further recovered over 27.2m litres (171,418.27 bbls) of crude oil, over 4m litres of illegally-refined AGO, 117,525 litres of DPK and 369,155.00 litres of PMS.