An illicit hose and excavation site used to siphon fuel from an underground oil pipeline
Energy police say oil smuggling nearly eliminated as seizures top 27 million liters
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Energy Police Directorate said Monday it has ended pipeline breaches and reduced oil smuggling operations by 98%, seizing more than 27 million liters of petroleum products and returning them to the state treasury.
Director General of Energy Police Dhafer al-Husseini said in a statement to the official news agency that “the activities of the General Directorate of Energy Police from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 15, 2025, resulted in the seizure of 995 vehicles and 58 sites prepared for smuggling.”
He said the amount of seized petroleum products returned to the state reached “27,286,525 liters,” while “1,182 suspects involved in smuggling were arrested,” adding that “the number of violating fuel stations reached six.”
Al-Husseini said, “The smuggling file has been ended by 98%, while breaches of oil pipelines stand at zero percent.”
He attributed the results to expanded monitoring measures, saying, “Modern technology has been introduced to monitor oil pipelines, facilities and fields through thermal cameras, as well as monitoring pipeline routes using drones.”
The Energy Police Directorate operates under the Interior Ministry and is tasked with protecting oil infrastructure, combating fuel smuggling and safeguarding state energy resources across the country.
The Energy Police campaign builds on earlier measures announced this year, including the launch of drone surveillance to monitor oil pipelines, wells and fields across Iraq. In October, Director General Dhafer al-Husseini said the force had begun using drones to enhance protection of energy infrastructure and combat smuggling, noting that dozens of suspects were arrested and millions of liters of fuel seized in multiple governorates. Oil smuggling has long posed financial and security risks, with past cases involving armed clashes near major fields, long prison sentences for pipeline sabotage, and the discovery of tunnels and tanker networks used to siphon crude and fuel for illicit trade.