Security forces seized on Monday a large amount of fuel prepared for smuggling out of Lebanon, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced.
On June 9th, the ISF‘s Information Branch set up an ambush in northern Lebanon that resulted in the seizure of a van carrying a 1,000-liter fuel tank set for smuggling into Syrian territory.
“K.W.” (38, Lebanese) and “J.R.” (42, Lebanese), the individuals who were in the van at the time of the operation, confessed to smuggling subsidized diesel oil and selling it on the black market for profit.
They also pointed security forces to the location of their supplier: a warehouse in the northern village of Aydamoun.
In light of that revelation, an Information Branch patrol raided the said warehouse, seizing 7 large containers and two tanks containing 106,140 liters of diesel fuel and 19,025 liters of gasoline, respectively.
The owner of the warehouse, identified as “A.A.” (50, Lebanese), confessed that he had been illegally storing gasoline and diesel fuel with the aim of selling them on the black market later on.
The ISF said that the detainees have been handed over to the competent judicial authority while work is underway to arrest other suspects linked to this case.
Lebanon has been suffering from a severe shortage of fuel that has been intensified by smuggling to Syria.
In a bizarre move, smugglers recently held a protest on the border with Syria, demanding that they be allowed to continue smuggling.
