Colonel Saeed Dadgar said on Tuesday that Birjand highway patrol officers suspected a tank-truck and stopped it at the checkpoint of Birjand-Mashhad road.
The tank-truck consisted of 14,100 smuggled diesel fuel were seized, he said, adding that the smuggler has been also arrested in the operation and handed to judiciary officials.
19,000 smuggled fuels have been seized by forces of the province in the first half of the current year (March 21-September 22), which indicates a growth in comparison with the corresponding period of last year, he added.
Fuel smuggling is affecting the country's economy gravely, he added, saying that for this reason, the police are seriously dealing with fuel smuggling.
Although Iranian rial has experienced depreciation against international currencies in recent months, fuel prices have remained unchanged and this has multiplied the lucrativeness of fuel smuggling in Iran. As reported in early June, Iran has launched a border market to sell diesel fuel to buyers in Pakistan and Afghanistan to counter smuggling of fuel ate border areas.
Fuel, especially diesel, is being moved illegally out of the country through cities bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey, says Alireza Zeighami, deputy oil minister for refining and distribution. Between 7 million-10 million liters of petrol and diesel are smuggled out every day, according to Iranian state media. Analysts are attributing a 7 percent rise in fuel consumption to an increase in smuggling activity.
MNA/IRN83552135