Coalition forces in Iraq are targeting smuggling groups in the southern region, hoping to disrupt their trade in oil and copper, said US Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez at a recent Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Operational Briefing, reported Washington File.
Sanchez said the smuggling, which amounts to around $200,000 worth of oil per day, is being done by well-organized professionals in southern Iraq and "has a very direct impact on the families, the communities and the country...."
Coalition forces are training oil police guards and fixed-site security guards to supplement the 9,500 guards that have already been hired in the country, said Sanchez. He added that the CPA is working with the Iraqi Oil Ministry to register tankers.
The British Navy intercepted a ship smuggling 1,100 tons of oil from Iraq on August 8, 2003. Up to three-billion-dollars worth of illegal oil exports crossed the Gulf seas in 2002, making their way from the besieged Iraq to black markets in neighboring states. Members of Saddam Hussein’s regime landed the spoils from these unregulated oil sales, with profit rates estimated at around $100 per ton. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
