COLOMBO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka has seized more than 50,000 liters of illegally hoarded fuel over the past 30 days and arrested 31 people in nationwide raids, police said on Sunday.
Police Media Spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police F. U. Wootler said the arrests were made in raids carried out across the island from March 3 to April 4.
He said police took into custody more than 52,000 liters of fuel during the operations, including 47,006 liters of diesel, 2,668 liters of gasoline, and 2,706 liters of kerosene.
Wootler said police have initiated legal action against the suspects arrested in connection with the illegal stockpiling.
He said the operations were conducted on the instructions of the inspector general of police to arrest people who were illegally hoarding fuel and causing inconvenience to the public at a time when a global energy crisis is emerging.
Since the outbreak of the latest round of military conflict in the Middle East, Sri Lankan authorities have intensified their crackdown on fuel hoarding and black market activities, so as to address a fuel shortage caused by the conflict. ■
