SECURITY guards attached to Belemaoil Producing Limited, on Tuesday, arrested two suspected pipeline vandals in Rivers State.
The guards, who were among the 520 persons recently engaged by the company, said the suspects were caught while conveying some stolen petroleum products.
It will be recalled that Belemaoil had recently engaged over 520 youths in its host community to monitor and watch over oil facilities operated by the company.
While parading and handing over the suspects to the police, the leader of the team, Mr. Gibson Tiger, said the youths had intensified surveillance on all oil platforms at the creeks in the state.
Tiger stated that the youths were able to record the success because they were much acquainted with the creeks in the area.
While vowing that illegal dealings on oil products must stop in the region, Tiger said, “Belemaoil is good to us because you can see that a lot of youths now have something to do.
“You can see the number of people employed from the communities and we are recording success because we know the terrain very well.
“The communities are behind the company and we will work with them to ensure that there is peace for their operation. They have engaged us to help to stop pipeline vandalism. Illegal deals on oil need to stop because it will not do us any good.”
One of the suspects, who identified himself as Silas, said, “We were arrested in one of the creeks. We were carrying diesel produced by the oil bunkerers before the people who were on surveillance arrested us.
“Today is my first day of getting involved in this kind of business. They called me from Port Harcourt to supply the product. As we were carrying the product, they arrested us.
“I am a driver of speed boat. I don’t produce; we came to buy diesel. I started this business last month. This is my second trip. In the first operation, I made N9,000. I sell the product at Port Harcourt.
“We were going to sell the product to make money. Now that I have been caught red-handed, I want to advise others to stop oil theft. If they leave me, I will not get myself involved in it again. Even if you bring oil bunkering to my house, I will leave my house and run away. It is an illegal business,” he said.
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