Italian gang members stole and sold kerosene from NATO pipeline | Abroad

03 Oct 2023 at 09:59

Members of an Italian gang stole around 800,000 liters of kerosene from a NATO pipeline in June 2019. They then resold the fuel to motorists.

A NATO spokesperson confirmed this after the financial police in the Italian city of Rimini reported the theft. The gang stole the kerosene near the Belgian-French border.

According to Rimini’s financial police, the gang brought the stolen kerosene to Italy. The members sold the fuel to motorists, who thought they were buying gasoline. It is not clear whether the kerosene caused damage to the vehicles. The fuel is not intended for cars, but for aircraft.

The NATO pipeline from which the kerosene was stolen is the Central European Pipeline System (CEPS). The pipeline runs through the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Luxembourg.

The pipeline was constructed to meet NATO’s demand for oil products at any time. The CEPS connects air bases with storage facilities, pumping stations and supply points.

Beeld: Getty Images

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