Security operatives have reportedly set ablaze two trucks laden with suspected stolen crude at the Evwreni axis of the East/West road in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The development is coming barely hours after the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, said that NNPCL in conjunction with security agencies and the directive of the Chief of Defense Staff, no longer arrest trucks used for stolen but to burn such confiscated products outrightly.
It was gathered that the trucks which were intercepted along the highway were loaded with about 45,000 liters of crude oil each.
The trucks were heading towards Warri before they were intercepted on Monday evening and set ablaze by the security agents.
Though details were still sketchy as of Tuesday, a source who spoke to newsmen disclosed that oil theft has become a norm in the country especially in the Niger Delta region hence security agencies are mandated to burn vehicles and trucks arrested for conveying the products.
Credit: Daily Sun