ROME: A total of 27 people were arrested or submitted to supervision measures on Monday for allegedly smuggling lubricating oil from Poland and selling it as diesel in Italy, a statement from the Italian finance police said.
The suspects, including Italian and foreign nationals, were all alleged members of an international ring dealing in smuggling, tax evasion and commercial fraud, according to the statement.
Italy’s finance police said the ring smuggled nearly 13 million liters of lubricating oil into Italy and sold it as diesel to transportation companies, meanwhile, evading 11.5 million euros (13.2 million U.S. dollars) in taxes.
An additional 47 people were put under investigation in this operation codenamed “Varsavia,” conducted in collaboration with the Polish police.
Finance police also carried out searches of more than 50 companies, and seized assets worth around 14 million euros (16 million U.S. dollars).
A total of 17 companies, of which seven were Italian, three German, one British, two Polish and one Czech, were among the seized assets, according to ANSA news agency. Sources close to the investigation said buyers were unaware they were purchasing a product other than diesel, but they were encouraged by the favorable prices offered by crooked fuel distributors.
