Aviation turbine fuel smuggling racket busted, 6 held

The Delhi Police on Monday claimed to have busted a racket siphoning off aviation turbine fuel from tankers meant for the international airport here and selling those in the open market as mineral turpentine oil, causing a monthly loss of over Rs 1.62 crore to the national exchequer.

- TDG NETWORK

The illegal operation—running for over three years—was uncovered following a tip-off received on Sunday, and led to the arrest of six people and detention of two others.

The racket is said to be causing a loss of over Rs 1.62 crore to the exchequer every month, with an estimated 5,000 litres of fuel being stolen daily. "The ATF was originally dispatched from HPCL's Asoda Depot in Bahadurgarh for delivery to IGI Airport. However, tanker drivers, in connivance with the transporter and godown owner, manipulated GPS tracking data and diverted the tankers to a concealed location in Mundka," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Aditya Gautam said.