Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Tehran, February 5 (Xinhua) — The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy intercepted two ships carrying contraband fuel near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf on Thursday, the IRGC said Thursday.
A statement published on the IRGC's official news portal, Sepah News, noted that after detaining the ships based on a court order and redirecting them to the southern port city of Bushehr, IRGC units detained 15 foreign crew members and handed them over to judicial authorities for further proceedings.
The statement added that more than 1 million liters of contraband fuel were found on board the detained vessels. It noted that these ships were part of a fuel smuggling network that had been involved in recent months and were identified and intercepted through monitoring and tracking by IRGC Navy intelligence forces.
Fuel smuggling remains a serious problem in Iran, where fuel prices are among the lowest in the world. The price differential creates a lucrative market for smugglers who transport Iranian fuel to neighboring countries, where prices are significantly higher. Iranian officials estimate that the country loses billions of US dollars annually due to this illicit trade.
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