Lebanese security forces raided on Saturday a warehouse storing thousands of liters of subsidized fuel in northern Lebanon.
According to a statement issued by the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the move came after the ISF‘s Information Branch received information about individuals storing subsidized fuel at a warehouse without obtaining a license, and selling them on the black market.
Investigations led the Branch to locate the warehouse, in the northern town of Aamara, as well as to identify the person running it: 33-year-old Lebanese national “A.A.”
On June 24, following a delicate surveillance operation, an Information Branch squad raided the warehouse, seizing a 40-liter tank, four 15-barrel tanks, and 16 10-liter gallons.
The aforementioned suspect was arrested and interrogated, and he confessed to having been using the warehouse to store subsidized diesel fuel without a legal license and sell it on the black market.
شعبة المعلومات ختمت بالشمع الأحمر مستودعًا في #برقايل، يُستخدم لتخزين المازوت المدعوم لبيعه في السوق السوداء.https://t.co/DaeiZBx4tE#قوى_الأمن #لبنان pic.twitter.com/VVXp37m75F
— قوى الامن الداخلي (@LebISF) July 3, 2021
The necessary legal measures have been taken against him, and the warehouse has been sealed with red wax after the containers inside it were all seized, based on a judicial notice.
This is the latest of many recent security operations conducted against individuals and networks involved in the illegal storing of fuel for smuggling or for illicit profits on the black market.
Last week, the Lebanese Army arrested more than two dozen people attempting to smuggle fuel out of Lebanon.
