Africa-Press – Angola. Thirty-one vehicles with adapted tanks, used for fuel smuggling in Namibian territory, were seized this week, at the Ondjiva and Santa Clara gas stations, by the National Police.
Of the vehicles seized during Operation Omayoli, which in Portuguese means fuel, which took place from the 12th to the 15th of this month, there were 26 with Namibian registration plates and six national ones, with tanks adapted for 300, 600 and one thousand liters.
Those involved purchase a liter of gasoline at the price of 300 kwanzas and diesel at 130, at fuel stations in the cities of Ondjiva and Santa Clara, to sell in Namibian territory, where they earn three times more in relation to the purchase.
Speaking to the press this Saturday, the director of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the Provincial Delegation of the Interior in Cunene, Piedade Pombal, said that the vehicles most used in this work are the Toyota Hiace and Raider brands.
He explained that in recent times, those involved in fuel smuggling have altered vehicle tanks in order to transport the largest volume of the product, going through strange routes.
“What woke up the Police was the constant flood of vehicles at gas stations, which took 15 to 20 minutes to leave, even small means of transport which should only take five minutes”, he stated.
Piedade Pombal, said that the corporation will continue to reinforce mechanisms to combat fuel smuggling along the Angola/Namibia common border, given the new “modus operandi” of smugglers.
In April this year, the national police in Cunene seized five vehicles, three with national registration plates and two from Namibia, with adapted tanks, intended for fuel smuggling.
Data from the National Police in Cunene indicate that during this year, 20,810 liters of smuggled fuel were seized on the border between Angola and Namibia.
The province of Cunene shares 460 kilometers with the Republic of Namibia, 340 of which are land and 120 are river.
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