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Indian police crack down on crude oil theft in Rajasthan

The file photo shows Cairn India oilfield in Rajasthan.

Indian police in the western desert state of Rajasthan have launched a major crackdown on a criminal syndicate accused of smuggling over 50 million liters of crude oil inside water tankers.

Local media reports said on Sunday that the oil was smuggled from India's largest onshore oilfield located in Rajasthan.

Gangandeep Singla, a local police chief, said over 75 people, many drivers and contractors working at the Cairn India oilfield, were still wanted in connection with the heists.

"The company suspected something fishy was happening and complained to us, and during investigations we found this was an organized ring," media outlets quitted Singla as saying.

The drivers, who were authorized to carry water, were disabling their GPS devices to avoid tracking and detection.

The stolen oil, used in diesel production and road construction, was sold to two small factory owners nearby. They stockpiled the crude in underground tanks before selling it on to clients across India.

At least 7.75 million dollars worth of oil could have been stolen in total from the oilfield run by a subsidiary of British mining giant Vedanta Resources.

The theft at the Cairn India oilfield went undetected for about six years until law enforcement agencies detained more than two dozen people this week for involvement in the sophisticated smuggling network.

In February, police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh detained nearly 12 people accused of stealing 15.5 million dollars worth of petroleum from a high pressure refinery pipeline there.

The gang had purchased land adjacent to the refinery and dug a tunnel to tap the pipeline owned by state-run Hindustan Petroleum.

India, which imports nearly 82 percent of its crude oil to meet its energy requirements, has taken a series of effective measures to halt oil stealing in recent years.  


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