Fuel smuggling warehouse seized in Misurata, three suspects arrested

The Office of the Public Prosecutor has announced the successful dismantling of a major fuel smuggling operation in the coastal city of Misurata, located about 187 kilometers east of Tripoli. The operation led to the seizure of a warehouse stocked with large quantities of fuel and the arrest of three suspects.

According to an official statement, the confiscated fuel was stored in depots carrying falsified documentation designed to conceal the illicit nature of the shipments and evade legal inspection. The operation followed extensive investigations and the implementation of precautionary measures to secure all assets found inside the warehouse.

This latest crackdown comes as part of a wider campaign against illegal fuel trade. In recent weeks, thousands of liters of smuggled fuel were seized during coordinated raids targeting locations used for the unlawful sale of fuel within the jurisdictions of Al-Khums and Misurata Courts of Appeal.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the Judicial Enforcement Unit had received intelligence on suspicious activities in the area. Acting on this information, the Public Prosecutor instructed immediate action in cooperation with the Special Tasks Force, resulting in the raid, inspection of storage sites, and seizure of the smuggled fuel.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the seized fuel had been originally supplied by official distribution channels as part of quotas allocated to citizens. Instead of reaching the public, these allocations were diverted and sold to smuggling networks by certain registered entities and commercial operators.

Authorities have confirmed that the investigation is ongoing, with efforts continuing to identify and prosecute all individuals and entities linked to the smuggling network.