The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Bayelsa Sate Command, has seized 99,000 litres of adulterated petroleum products, consisting mainly of diesel and kerosene from suspected vandals in the state.


Our correspondent gathered that the agency, which made the seizure in March, impounded three tankers used for the illegal business and arrested seven suspected vandals.


The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Denny-Manuel Iwuchukwu, told our correspondent in Yenagoa that the suspects were arrested in three separate operations by the agency’s anti-vandalism team.


He said they were arrested at Otu Ogiri in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.


He gave the names of some of the suspects as Nafiu Heya, Haruna Ibrahim, Yakubu Mohammed, Basiru Sanni and Kazan Suleiman.


He said one of the tankers had a Lagos registration number of XY 373 EKY, while the other one was marked Borno XA 571 DKW.


He said that the third tanker was marked Abuja XC 379 KUJ and added that each of the tankers was loaded with 33,000 of the products.


An investigation by our correspondent showed that the agency had been having a tough battle with pipeline vandals in the state.


It was gathered that pipeline was the main target of vandals and that in most cases the miscreants went beyond draining petroleum products to carting away the pipes.


Our correspondent, who visited the head office of the agency, discovered that various shapes of seized gallons of adulterated products littered its premises.


Also, various types of vehicles allegedly used for the illegal transactions were seized and parked in the agency’s premises.


But Iwuchukwu said the agency was engaged in the fight to fulfil its statutory mandate and prevent adulterated products from getting into the market.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201104081402159