The Iraqi National Security Agency said high-ranking officers and senior staff were involved in the largest crude oil smuggling ring in Basra, pointing to the arrest of members of the network.
The agency has revealed details of the arrest of the network, which it called “the largest crude oil smuggling network in Basra,” according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
And in a national security statement, it said that “Agency forces prevented, by spying on this network, one of the largest crude oil smuggling operations in Basra, which was led by a merchant and which involved high-ranking officers and senior employees.”
He explained that “the network practiced smuggling by punching holes in the export lines of crude oil at the Zubair oil field and transporting it on a dirt road for smuggling.”
The statement added: “The daily volume of smuggling is estimated between 5-7 tanks with a capacity of 50,000 liters, and the monthly volume is 75 million liters”, noting that “the statements of the defendants have been recorded and investigations are still ongoing.” .”
Yesterday, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani wrote on his Twitter account: “We have been in charge of tracing oil smuggling networks and executing arrest warrants for gangs that dare and prowl to steal the rights of Iraqis, and God willing, National Security Units in cooperation with other agencies were able to eliminate the largest network of oil smuggling in Basra.
The Iraqi Oil Ministry reported last Tuesday that oil export revenues for October totaled more than $9 billion.
