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One and a half million liters of smuggled Syrian gasoline entered the Lebanese market (Haitham Al-Mousawi)
Smuggling never stopped from Lebanon to Syria, and vice versa, in a permanent movement in which goods and their direction differ according to the evolution of markets and cash in the two countries. However, the recent crisis in Lebanon and the Bank of Lebanon continue to support diesel in parallel with the intensification of the blockade on Syria in recent months, especially since the blockade will worsen in the next stage with the entry into force of the law. American “Caesar” to punish Syria by making diesel fuel smuggling go into effect. Towards Syria is a profitable affair for smugglers and their partners alike, after it was invested in decades, that Syrian fuel was cheaper than Lebanese, and smugglers’ interest demanded that Syrian fuel be smuggled into Beirut.
However, despite the clamor of the previous night, the relevant authorities had not completed the details of the file regarding the parties involved, the mechanism of the new contraband operations and the amounts of contraband. However, what is confirmed, according to data from a judicial and security authority, is that the smuggling lines are the same in the Hermel and Wadi Khaled regions, and that the amounts under discussion are inflated.
What is happening, according to the security reference, is that “smugglers and large fuel distribution companies prefer to sell diesel to Syria, to take advantage of the price difference between Lebanon and Syria recently and the support provided by the BDL to pass smuggling fifty to one hundred tanks a day from illegal crossings in Hermel and Wadi Khaled. And adds that “some quantities of flour are smuggled from common wheat to Syria to be used in the manufacture of tourist bread, which is also a material backed by the Central Bank. “However, the source confirms that” the ability of the Lebanese army and security services to control borders 100% is impossible “and that” the areas where smuggling is carried out are not They completed the deployment of the army to them, as planned by the political and security crisis in the country and the decision to stop recruitment due to the cr financial isis “.
Safety reference: the solution starts by monitoring the fuel before it leaves the companies and reaches the roads
However, the source claims that the army and the rest of the agencies, especially customs, have taken strict measures during the last two days, as some border sites have reinforced additional soldiers, chased contraband trucks and stopped tanks that were heading north of Bekaa and Akkar and transported to the army headquarters to confirm their destination. But the crisis is that “many smugglers, either from station owners or according to large companies, and therefore controlling the issue on the roads is difficult, and the solution begins by monitoring the fuel before it leaves the companies and reach the roads “, through the presence of customs elements within each company Oil importers monitor distribution manifests to ensure that the destination is the stations and the Lebanese market, and on this basis the stations are monitored and their statements, and this matter requires a cabinet decision to compel companies to assist customs agents on a daily basis to monitor distribution operations.
Regarding wheat smuggling, the security source states that “wheat smuggling is carried out, but in small quantities”, while another security apparatus studies the possibility that some merchants in Bekaa and the North may accumulate quantities of grains to monopolize and re-market them with the high prices of goods.
In parallel, a judicial source tells “Al-Akhbar” that the judiciary has moved and that “the security services have begun to collect information and take action.” “There is clearly an alliance between smugglers and big business, but investigation and accountability will affect everyone.”
For his part, an expert in the fuel and oil market explains to “Al-Akhbar” what is happening and stresses that “the first beneficiary of these operations are the smuggling networks (and the fuel distribution companies involved with the smuggling networks), and what happens is detrimental to the Lebanese state and the Syrian state and causes a crisis. ” The Bank of Lebanon covers 85% of the import invoice in US dollars (based on 1515 pounds per dollar, so the price of the plate is approximately 9100 Lebanese pounds, while its cost today in the Syrian market is around 20,000 Lebanese pounds. Smugglers then sell it to Syria for 12-13,000 Lebanese pounds, so Syrian smugglers add profits to them and then sell them on the Syrian market so that they remain profitable for them The quantities do not come. Oz today is approximately half a million liters, mostly from two companies known in the market, and it is clear that the ministry has no fuel, and provides practically 70% of the market and 30% of the companies, so the crisis is reflected in the markets. “And the expert adds that before a period of” he was entering a million and a half million liters of Syrian gasoline smuggled and n the Lebanese market, and there was an interest in Lebanon to do it. ” The source criticizes the Bank of Lebanon’s “continued support for diesel rather than price liberalization, and therefore halts smuggling, provided that the main consumer of the material is electricity generators. But this must be accompanied by the support of citizens with direct financial allocations, so that the fuel subsidy goes to the segments that really need it, and collect the tax from those who can pay it, instead of consuming dollars in the Banco del Lebanon and the lack of justice in the distribution of support.
