Wednesday, 16 March, 2022.
Fuel smugglers bringing in cheaper fuel from North Cyprus to the south have been fined by the British Bases, Kibris Postasi reported. Currently fuel is 30 cents a litre cheaper in the TRNC.
According to reports in the Greek Cypriot press, a customs officer for the British Bases East region said that ongoing checks by customs personnel at the Beyarmudu and Akray (Strovilia) checkpoints had “interrupted the fuel smuggling” allegedly from the TRNC.
The reports say that in recent weeks, customs officers had detected suspicious activity when HGVs were crossing the border several times a week.
It was discovered that the vehicles had been adapted into special fuel tankers to smuggle in cheaper fuel from the TRNC.
In one instance a commercial bus company had insured one of its buses to ferry fuel from the TRNC to supply its 16 other buses. The company was fined 1,480 euros and the bus was seized.
The British Bases customs officer said that cheaper fuel and the depreciating Turkish lira was leading to these illegal activities.
Meanwhile, in a separate report, Kibris Postasi writes that the cost of fuel has been hiked by 15 cents per litre. This is despite that fact that, on the international market, fuel prices have decreased by 28 percent.