A vessel conveying 800,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil has been intercepted

A vessel conveying 800,000 litres of suspected stolen crude oil has been intercepted by a private security contractor engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company NNPC.

The vessel and its crew members were apprehended on July 7, by operatives of Messrs. Tantita Security Services at an offshore location heading to Cameroon.

Garba Muhammad, spokesman for the NNPC, said this in a statement on Monday Abuja.

According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that the crude oil cargo on-board was illegally sourced from a well jacket offshore in Ondo State, Nigeria.

He further said that the details of the arrest and the outcomes of the investigations were escalated to the appropriate government authorities. This, he said, was to destroy the vessel to serve as a strong warning and deterrent to all those participating in such illegal activities.