0.7 million litres of hoarded fuel seized near Kharian

A joint raid near Kharian recovered around 700,000 litres of hoarded petrol and diesel from an unlicensed premises adjacent to a filling station. Officials said further legal action was being taken against the suspects.

GUJRAT: Around 700,000 litres of hoarded petroleum products were recovered from a compound next to a filling station at Chak Peerana near Kharian on Sunday during a joint operation carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority and the district administration.

According to a senior FIA official, the raid was conducted at Al Ghani Petroleum after authorities received credible information about the hoarding of petroleum products. He said the operation was conducted by a joint team comprising FIA Gujrat Circle, Ogra Executive Director (Enforcement) Mr Iqbal, Pera Force and district administration officials.

The official said the team found a large quantity of petrol and diesel stored in unauthorised tankers and illegal underground containers at an unlicensed premises adjoining the filling station. During the inspection, he added, the management was unable to present any valid permit allowing storage of petroleum products beyond the permissible limit.

During the raid, officials recovered about 118,000 litres of petrol and 570,000 litres of diesel. Four containers were also taken into custody as case property.

The FIA official said illegal over-storage, hoarding and unsafe handling of petroleum products had been clearly established during the operation and that the activity amounted to a violation of the relevant laws. He added that further legal action was being taken against the suspects.

Official sources said such operations were being carried out on the directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in view of excessive consumption or sale of petroleum products in the country during March this year compared with figures for the same month last year.

The recovery was made from a compound adjacent to the filling station, where authorities said petroleum products had been stored in excess quantities without the required authorisation. The joint action involved multiple enforcement and regulatory bodies, with officials saying the premises itself was unlicensed.

The case has been taken up for further legal proceedings following the seizure, while the impounded containers have been made part of the case property, according to the FIA official.