TEHRAN – Iranian police have taken down a fuel theft network in Hormozgan province in the south of the country.

“After receiving intelligence reports by security forces on the stealing of fuel from the main pipeline supplying oil products in the Sarzeh village on the outskirts of the Fin County, the head of the local judicial authority visited the site of the incident at 2 am, issuing an order to immediately identify those involved in this criminal act,” said Mojtaba Qahremani, the chief of the Hormozgan Justice Department.

Given the judicial decree to identify the perpetrators, said the official, security forces managed to spot the site where illegal excavation had taken place to steal from the main pipeline.

“Necessary measures were adopted, and the site was put under nighttime surveillance and close watch to identify the main operatives of the [fuel theft] network,” He explained.

“Accordingly, in coordination with judicial officials and the formation of operation teams, troops went into action in a rapid response and surprise operation and arrested two thieves illegally pumping out fuel,” the official noted.

He added efforts are underway to identify the other perpetrators and to determine the exact amount of the fuel stolen.

Due to the measures adopted, he said, the rate of fuel theft from pipeline has dropped sharply and possible cases of theft are spotted immediately.

He said a relentless campaign to counter the scourge of oil products theft is under way, adding the Judiciary will deal with perpetrators without reservation.

As part of Iran’s crackdown on fuel trafficking, Iranian security forces dismantled a fuel smuggling ring in northern Mazandaran province days ago.

The smuggling network included provincial and national-level fuel traffickers, fuel station employees, transportation contractors, fuel distributors, and truck drivers engaged in illegally diverting and selling subsidized fuel. The coordinated operation was carried out in close cooperation with the Judiciary.

Iran continues to grapple with widespread fuel smuggling, both overland and through maritime routes, a problem fueled by the country’s heavily subsidized fuel prices—among the lowest in the world. The sharp price gap between Iran and neighboring countries has long encouraged large-scale illegal fuel transfers.

In response, Iranian authorities, in coordination with the Armed Forces, have intensified efforts to intercept smugglers by land and sea. Official figures indicate that an estimated 25 to 30 million liters of fuel products, including gasoline and diesel, are smuggled out of Iran every day.