The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested nine suspected oil thieves at an illegal refinery in a forest boundary between Rivers and Abia.

The NSCDC Public Relations Officer (PRO), Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Afolabi said: "We apprehended nine suspects caught in the act of illegally refining stolen crude extracted from a vandalised oil wellhead.

"We also discovered an ongoing construction of a local refinery with the capacity to produce 60,000 litres of crude at once.

"Visibly at the massive illegal bunkering we noticed large hoses and galvanised metal pipes laid to transfer stolen crude across the processing channels."

According to him, the suspects arrested are; Oghene Wede (M) 32years, Moses James (M) 25years, Chidi Nwosu (M) 53years, Samuel John (M) 24years.

Others are; Emmanuel Paul (M) 20years, Oghenevo Nwebi (M) 43years, Martina WhinnyPeter (F) 38years, Nwabuchi Nwogu (M) 41 years and David Okere (M) 20years.

He said that interrogation of the suspects and further investigation had commenced, adding that the suspects would thereafter be charged in court.

He said the massive site contained over 15 modular ovens with 4 fabricated reservoirs and 30 pits dug out to store processed AGO.