TRIESTE – 64,000 litres of road diesel transported illegally on railway wagons bound for southern Italy have been seized. The operation was carried out by the Guardia di Finanza from the provincial commands of Udine and Verona, as part of checks along the main freight rail routes.
Officers inspected several “tank containers” used to transport chemical substances, identifying anomalies in the accompanying documentation. In particular, two containers were declared as carrying lubricating oil from eastern Europe, formally destined for a Bulgarian customer but scheduled for delivery in Italy.
Further investigations, however, established that the contents of the tanks had the same characteristics as road diesel, marketed illegally in evasion of excise duties. The product, amounting to 64,000 litres, was therefore seized. Investigations are now continuing to reconstruct the illicit supply chain and identify the real recipient of the fuel.
The operation forms part of efforts to combat fraud in the excise sector, a phenomenon that causes losses for the state and distorts competition in the fuel market.
