TEHRAN -- Iranian police have arrested dozens of people, mostly Turkish nationals, who were smuggling diesel by mule from Iran's western borders to Turkey, the Islamic Republic of Iran Police (IRIP) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Police engaged the 80-strong caravan near the border city of Khoy in the West Azarbaijan Province and made arrests, besides seizing 89 mules as well as 9,000 liters of diesel, the statement added.

The operation is part of Iran's crackdown on fuel smuggling to neighboring countries where there is high demand for the scarce commodity, but steeply cheap in Iran, in their black markets.