Since the United Arab Emirates (UAE) phased out subsidies and raised fuel prices two years ago, smugglers have been making a killing by selling cheap Saudi diesel and gasoline in that country, a local Arabic daily newspaper reported on Tuesday. Abu Mahmoud was quoted in the newspaper as saying that a tanker of diesel is bought in the Kingdom for SR8,000 and sold in the UAE for SR100,000. To fool customs officials, the tankers are loaded with 26 tons of diesel and four tons of hydraulic liquid which is then separated before being sold to customers. Diesel is sold in the Kingdom for a quarter of a riyal a liter compared to SR3.70 a liter in the UAE. Smugglers use gasoline tanker trucks and trailers with Saudi license plates. The trucks then cross legally over the Saudi border into the UAE with documents showing they are carrying loads of hydraulic and used oil. The two countries allow trading in these two commodities. The first stop is normally remote areas in Sharjah where brokers bid for the contraband at deals struck early in the morning. Most of the trucks travel from the Eastern Province of the Kingdom. There are factories in Sharjah which specialize in separating used oil from the diesel. Used oil is also recycled in the area.
