[56723] Large-scale fuel smuggling thwarted in Bandar Abbas: Six-kilometer underwater pipeline destroyed

Smuggling uncovering operation in Bandar Abbas

Iranian maritime law enforcement authorities reported today, May 12, 2026, the foiling of a significant fuel smuggling attempt in the Bandar Abbas area. According to reports by Iran International, which is affiliated with the Iranian opposition in exile, and concurrently according to a report by the حوادث فوری channel, which focuses on criminal news and events in Iran, Border Guard forces located and destroyed a fuel transport pipeline six kilometers in length.

According to the report by Iran International, which cited official sources linked to the Revolutionary Guards, the smugglers buried the pipeline beneath the sand and sea water. Using this infrastructure, fuel was pumped from the shore directly to ships anchored in the open sea, thereby allowing the smugglers to bypass state oversight.

The حوادث فوری channel emphasized that this was a sophisticated "underwater line" designed to transport fuel to "criminal ships" waiting beyond the line of sight from the shore. The operational activity included the destruction of the entire infrastructure to prevent the continuation of fuel smuggling operations in this strategic area.