The Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta on Sunday said that it had impounded 17 metal badges, 10 vessels and a tug boat laden with crude oil in Rivers.
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The JTF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Bata Debiro, said this after an assessment tour of JTF's operational bases in Bonny, Rivers.
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Debiro said that the arrests were made only in its "Sub-sector Five" areas, which covered Andoni, Bonny and Gokana local government areas in Rivers, between April 2012 and July 2013.
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He claimed that some of the vessels and badges were laden with stolen crude oil and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) when they were apprehended. Debiro said that eight out of the 17 seized metal badges had been destroyed, while others were still undergoing investigations.
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The JTF commander, however, did not disclose the number of arrests made during the time under review.