Members of Iraqi national security service
In Basra, Kirkuk, Nineveh, Diyala, and Wasit,
Iraqi national security service foils fuel smuggling operations
BAGHDAD – Iraqi authorities announced on Thursday that national security agents had thwarted oil smuggling operations across five different governorates, arresting 68 suspects, and seizing 110 tankers and more than 3.6 million liters of fuel.
The National Security Agency reported in a statement that agents in Basra’s Al-Zubair area received intelligence of a garage being used for smuggling operations. Judicial authorities issued a warrant authorizing a raid on the site where agents discovered97 tankers loaded with nearly 3.5 million liters of oil, slated for smuggling. A total of 68 individuals were arrested, including the owner of another vehicle carrying 45,000 liters of illicit oil.
Agents in Kirkuk intercepted an operation targeting a main oil transport pipeline following a tip about a breach near the main Baghdad-Kirkuk highway. Units moved on the site where they discovered an underground pipeline used to siphon fuel.
Elsewhere in Nineveh, Diyala, and Wasit, teams uncovered storage facilities housing nine tanks with 85,000 liters of fuel, in addition to four vehicles loaded with 65,000 liters of fuel.
The agency further stated that all vehicles, fuel, and suspects were subsequently handed over to relevant authorities for prosecution.
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