18 Illegal Mini-oil-refineries Destroyed In Chechnya - 2 May, 2001 - News

Eighteen mini-oil-refineries were destroyed by federal forces in an operation codenamed "Chechen Oil" in Chechnya on Tuesday. The illegal oil business is one of the sources of obtaining funds by bandit formations, said a spokesman at the combined group of the Russian Interior Ministry in the North Caucasus. Part of the bandit groups engage in the provision of illegal oil production and the sale of fuels and lubricants. According to the data provided by the combined group of the Interior Ministry, such groups of militants are deployed near the areas of oil production and oil transportation routes, as a rule.