An illicit fuel storage containing 65,000 liters of fuel valued at N500 million was found in Lagos, according to a statement made on Wednesday by the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT.

According to a statement released by Lieutenant Hussein Ibrahim, the Base Information Officer, NNS, Ahmed Ariyo, the syndicate’s leader, and four other individuals were apprehended in a private residence located at 3 Silverbird Road, Ilasun Lekki, Lagos, where they were engaged in illicit activities.

According to Ibrahim, Commodore Rafiu Oladejo, the Commander of NNS BEECROFT, revealed that the illegal depot was discovered as a result of reliable information about questionable operations occurring at Elegushi Beach.

According to a spokeswoman for the Base, the intelligence required the NNS BEECROFT Quick Response Team to be sent to the scene, which led to the suspects’ detection and apprehension.

In the statement, Commodore Oladejo stated that the depot included eight 50,000-liter storage tanks, each filled to the brim with roughly 57,000 liters of AGO; additionally, there was a bus carrying thirty jerry cans, each filled to the brim with approximately 1,500 liters of AGO; and a tanker carrying approximately 7,000 liters.

According to him, the total amount of goods found was almost 65,000 liters of AGO, valued at N89 million at the current diesel price of N1, 350 per liter.

According to the Commander, the eight storage tanks at the flat have a combined capacity of about 400,000 liters, or N500 million, if they are fully loaded with AGO.

He clarified that an initial inquiry had shown that the suspects might have obtained the goods through pipeline damage, illicit maritime traders, and other illicit methods along the coast.

Commodore Oladejo restated Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu, the Chief of Naval Staff,’s directive that NNS BEECROFT will not back down in its pursuit of oil thieves and other criminal elements.

He gave law-abiding residents assurances about NNS BEECROFT’s resolve to eradicate all marine offenses from the Lagos maritime environment in order to promote socioeconomic growth.

At last, the Commander turned over the products, the suspects, and the facility to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for additional examination and potential legal action.