Police on alert for oil smuggling

BANGKOK: -- Thailand’s police are on the alert for an increase in smuggling of diesel oil by sea.

The authorities expect an enormous increase in smuggling after the domestic price for diesel rose by 3 baht a litre earlier this week, the Deputy National Police Chief, Pol. Gen. Suthep Thammarak, said on Wednesday.

A special task force, including marine police, are also on full alert for ships suspected of smuggling diesel and the so-called 'green diesel oil' travelling from Malaysia and Singapore, where it is refined.

The Thai government allows the tax-exempt 'green diesel oil' to be use by Thai trawlers.

More than 1.2 million litres of smuggled oil has been confiscated in raids during January to 23 March.

Only over 290,000 litres was confiscated in the same period last year.

Pol. Gne. Suthep said police were also on the watch for the possible smuggling of diesel and gasoline by land through Thailand to Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where retail prices are higher than those in Thailand.

--TNA 2005-03-24

Just out of curiosity, does anybody have any idea how much cheaper smuggled diesel fuel would be? Considering that the Thai government still subsidizes the price of diesel (implying that it is being sold legitimately at below the market price), I wouldn't expect that much money would be saved by doing an end run around the system.

"Hey man, I've got a full 100 gallons of gasoline behind my office, wanna buy?"

They are people buying and selling gasoline somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand right now.

Golf

Create a law and you create a crime. As if running drugs wasn't enough. When are we going to switch to some cheaper less dangrous fuel source and put these oil co. out of a job?