By Kemo Cham
Police in Kambia say they have arrested about a dozen people in an ongoing operation that has unearthed a major fuel smuggling syndicate.
The operation in the northern district is part of government’s clampdown on fuel smuggling in a larger measure imposed to control the economic crisis the country is going through, says Assistant Superintendent of Police Sydney Ola Williams of the Kambia Police Division.
He told Politico that the police Criminal Investigations Department was investigating the suspects who were rounded up at various parts of the district for their alleged involvement in the illegal sale of fuel.
Several other people thought to be involved in the smuggling ring have gone into hiding, ASP Williams adds.
Government recently mounted a clampdown on fuel smugglers amidst concern of a planned removal of state subsidies from the product, a call reiterated by a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to the country.
The IMF is a major lender to the government and some of its conditions include removal of subsidies and the introduction of prudent tax regimes.
Sierra Leone was particularly found wanting for its fuel subsidy payment which costs the state Le 90 billion (about $ 13million) a year.
This subsidy has ensured Sierra Leone has what government says is the cheapest fuel in the whole of the Mano River Union basin, but it has also caused a problem.
In neighbouring Guinea a litre of petrol goes for about 7,000 Guinean Franc (about Le 9,000). It costs Le3, 750 in Sierra Leone.
Consequently, a huge portion of the fuel that is imported into the country is smuggled across the border into Guinea.
Police say much of the smuggling is done through the border town of Gbalamuya, in Kambia District.
Over 1,000 gallons of fuel have been intercepted in the last two weeks, civil society and police sources in the district told Politico.
On the highway from Kambia town to Gbalamuya there are some eight fuel stations lined up, some still under construction. All of them have been deserted after their owners and attendants were seized in the ongoing operation.
In the town itself, the petrol stations are restricting the sale of fuel to individuals with jerry cans. The police say this is to prevent sale to smugglers.
Kambia is one of the smallest among Sierra Leone's 12 districts. It has seven chiefdoms and a population size of roughly 300,000, most of whom live in rural areas.
Kambia town itself has a population of about 90, 000 people.
Activists say the district is largely immobile yet has over 30 fuel station, a number they say is too many given the population who really need or use fuel.
Some activists also blame the security forces, notably the police, for aiding and abating the smuggling ring. They say police even provide security for the smugglers.
Last week a high profile security delegation headed by the Inspector General of Police, Francis Munu, visited the district. ASP Williams confirmed that the IG's team made some arrests.
That, according to CSOs, was followed by mass transfers of police officers from the district, lending credence to suggestions of alleged police involvement in the racketeering.
"Everyone is responsible, the ordinary citizens and the security apparatus," says Alie Conteh, a civil society activist working with the Kambia-based Centre for Democracy and Human Rights. He says just a fraction of fuel supplied to Kambia is actually consumed locally, and wondered why it took so long for the authorities to act.
ASP Williams, who was himself redeployed to Kambia two weeks ago, declined to comment on the alleged involvement of the police, only stressing that they were doing everything to undo the smuggling syndicate.
"We don't want to paint a picture that there is a crisis in Kambia. There is no crisis. But when people are selling fuel in jerry cans we will not allow that to happen," Williams, who is the head of operation at the Kambia police division, said.
Photo: one of the fuel stations targeted for smuggling of fuel.
Copyright (c) Politico 2016
