Fuel smuggler arrested north of Ayn Issa by Border Security Office

AYN ISSA, Syria – While carrying out its regular duties, the Border Security Office of the Internal Security Forces in Ayn Issa managed to thwart a fuel smuggling operation on the M4 international highway to the areas occupied by the Turkish military and its proxies. The smuggler was arrested with 30 barrels of gasoline. The barrels were put in a tank and hidden in the bed of a freight truck. A plank of wood placed on top to further conceal them. The driver was travelling from Hasakah on the road to Raqqa, heading to the occupied Sharkrak village to the north of Ayn Issa. The smuggler had planned to sell the fuel to the merchants in Sharkrak.

Fuel smuggling to the areas under the control of the Turkish occupation is considered a violation of law according to which the material is confiscated, and violators are punished. This is the second fuel smuggling operation that has been foiled by the Border Security Office.

Turkish occupation forces work through merchants and smugglers to smuggle gasoline and diesel from the regions of the Autonomous Administration to the occupied areas which have suffered from severe shortages of fuel and basic services since their occupation.