Libya’s top prosecutor says groups smuggling fuel to Europe

BENGHAZI, Libya – Libya’s top prosecutor says criminal groups are smuggling Libyan fuel on board fishing vessels to Europe.

Al-Sadiq al-Sour told reporters on Wednesday their investigations revealed that smugglers use sea routes to move subsidized fuel from the western coastal cities of Zuwara and Zawiya to Malta, Italy, Turkey, Spain and Greece.

He says hundreds of fuel stations are involved in the smuggling of their portions of subsidized diesel and that smugglers have made at least $100 million in the past three years.

Since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moammer Gadhafi, the oil-rich Libya has plunged into chaos.

The vast North African country is home to competing governments and parliaments, with real power held by an array of militias, many of which make money from smuggling and trafficking migrants.