In intervention, police with military support detained eight people and detained three vehicles and other evidence.
Santa Elena
The National Police in conjunction with the Armed Forces seized 5,020 gallons of artisanal fuel in the Anconcito parish, belonging to the Salinas canton, Santa Elena province.
This operation called Arena Blanca was carried out in order to identify the people who are misusing the artisanal gasoline that the State subsidizes for fishermen, authorities indicated.
Colonel José Vargas Alzamora, commander of the Santa Elena Subzone Police, explained that the fuel was allegedly going to be marketed to criminal organizations operating on the high seas.
“Unfortunately there are criminal groups that are in charge of obtaining this gasoline and negotiating it offshore, 20 nautical miles, at a cost of $ 25 a gallon,” Vargas said. The authorized price of a gallon of that type of fuel is $ 0.92.
The intervention carried out last Thursday left eight people apprehended, three vehicles detained: a truck, a pickup truck and a tanker; in addition to a suction pump, 20 meters of 2-inch hose and a stationary tank with a capacity for 1,200 gallons of hydrocarbon-derived liquid.
According to the investigations, the group was supplied with fuel through the artisanal fishing deposits, then the cans or tanks full of gasoline were transported in vehicles to warehouses and fishing ports located in this province and finally marketed at sea, for that purpose. which use boats.
A police officer explained that the arrest occurred when the people were transporting the fuel in a tanker and a truck. (I)
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
