From January to November 2023, the operational bodies of the Ministry of the Interior in the province of Cabinda seized one million 258 thousand and 502 liters of various fuel, of which 572 thousand 604 liters of diesel, 515 thousand 745 liters of gasoline and 170 thousand 153 liters of illuminating oil
In fact, the National Police (PN) detained 328 citizens, including nationals and foreigners (mainly from the DRC) suspected of illegal fuel trafficking. During the period in question, 296 cases of attempted smuggling and illegal fuel trafficking were recorded, resulting in the seizure of 64 vehicles (including tanker trucks), 18 motorbikes and some artisanal crafts, means involved in the smuggling operation.
At a press conference, the PN spokesperson stated that fuel smuggling in Cabinda has taken on an alarming profile due to the apathy of various social actors and organizations that should contribute to controlling the unbridled flow of petroleum derivatives subsidized by the State to neighboring countries, namely the Democratic Republics of Congo and Congo Brazzaville. According to Intendant Marcos Coxito, at the moment the fight once morest fuel trafficking is limited only to the bodies of the Ministry of the Interior, which are constantly faced with accusations from different sectors and elements of civil society, as being involved in promoting the aforementioned phenomenon.
According to this PN source, many filling stations are built in border locations where the circulation of vehicles does not justify the demand for these, assuming that their construction is more linked to the purpose of transporting these products through smuggling. By way of example, Marcos Coxito states that in the commune of Massábi, on a route of just under 35 kilometers, Bichékete/Massábi, ten (10) supply stations were created, while in the border commune of Tando-Zinze (municipality of Cabinda) with the DRC, five stations were set up in the towns of Mazengo, Chinguinguili, Sina bu Muno, Chiobo and Zenze Lucula.
From situation to situation, the bodies of the Ministry of the Interior guarantee that they will remain committed to closing ranks around the phenomenon, therefore, they invite other bodies and civil society to contribute to combating it, through complaints from everyone who persists in this practice as means of subsistence and easy profit. According to Marcos Coxito, it is common to hear accusations among the population regarding the involvement of PN personnel in the practice of fuel smuggling.
For the police spokesperson in Cabinda, regardless of the quality of the people involved in the corporation, whether they are agents or senior officials from the Ministry of the Interior, as is often said, it is necessary that the complaints are duly substantiated with evidence that will allow its actors to be held disciplinary and criminally responsible.
New “ways of working”
Fuel smuggling in Cabinda is a very profitable business, the fight once morest which, carried out by related bodies, has not had the success desired by the defense and security forces in stopping this evil that harms the national economy. On the contrary, the phenomenon, which is growing, generates thousands and millions of dollars and Kwanzas, respectively, for traffickers who are adopting new “modus operandi” through the authorities’ efforts to stop the illicit fuel trade in the province. Smugglers create product storage in warehouses, underground tanks hidden in villages and phantom containerized bombs.
They also use the sea and river routes to evacuate considerable quantities of fuel to the DRC and Congo Brazzaville, as well as altering the original characteristics of the vehicles by adding other tanks to carry more quantities of product. The fuel passes to the other side thanks to the vulnerability of the border, characterized by its geographical situation with the presence of thickets that prevent full coverage of police forces in these spaces, as well as the proximity of Angolan villages separated by 30 to 40 meters from those of the countries neighbors.
The immense rivers that separate the three countries have also served as a route for illegally transporting fuel across the border. The SIC and other operational bodies of the Ministry of the Interior have been tracking the new “modus operandi” of traffickers, as well as the main authors of this phenomenon, namely distributing agents, licensed resellers and ordinary citizens who transport insignificant quantities.
Fuel smuggling in Cabinda is already an organized crime involving well-structured networks of traffickers in Angola and neighboring countries, DRC and Congo Brazzaville. Criminal groups, made up mainly of pambaleiros (illegal fuel sellers), work in concert with an organized network of transporters, financiers and other participants in the business. “Analyzing it carefully, in terms of chronology or organized crime, it seems that the requirements are met to classify this phenomenon of fuel trafficking as a transnational criminal network that must be combatted energetically”, said a source from the Criminal Investigation Service, SIC , to the OPAIS newspaper.
Illegal fuel trafficking crimes continue to gain ground in the province, which is worrying authorities and society in general. “A phenomenon that has been causing countless financial losses to the Angolan State under the indifferent gaze of its authors who simply look out for greed, ignoring the economic damage to the country”, highlighted our source. The diversion of fuel to neighboring countries has often caused a shortage of the product in the province, a factor that has caused long queues of vehicles at gas stations.
More supervision
The provincial secretariat for Industry, Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas is carrying out a control operation to combat fuel smuggling to neighboring countries. The operation, according to its manager, Henrique Bitebi, will give sector inspectors full autonomy to coordinate the way fuel is managed at filling stations.
The data collected, he said, should help improve distribution and define the quantities to be made available to resellers. According to Henrique Bitebi, from the survey already carried out by the sector, it was found that most gas stations in the province do not serve customers, preferring to send the fuel to neighboring countries where sales prices are 800 kwanzas per year. liter of gasoline and 500 Kwanzas for diesel.
BY: Alberto Coelho, in Cabinda
