Patrols of the Law Enforcement Force (LEF) of the General Directorate of Security Operations seized several Tunisian motor vehicles at the Ras Ajdir Libyan Tunisian land border crossing. The LEF said the owners of the vehicles were engaged in smuggling goods and merchandise from Libya, in addition to smuggling fuel through tanks illegally added to these vehicles.
The LEF said the seizures come as part of its efforts to combat smuggling in all its forms, and in accordance with the laws and regulations in force.
It said all necessary legal measures have been taken against the owners of these vehicles, and they have been referred to the Ras Ajdir police station, in preparation for presenting them to the Public Prosecutor to take the necessary legal measures.
The LEF also seized the vehicles and the goods and transferred them to their headquarters, until the completion of the legal procedures related to them.
Background
It must be noted that cross border smuggling between Libya and Tunisia has been ongoing and on a near commercial scale for decades. Libya’s status as an oil exporting rentier state has meant that it has huge access to hard currency (US dollars) which has enabled it to import huge amounts of products.
Being a poorer non-oil exporter, Tunisia does not have an abundance of foreign exchange and applies relatively high import tariffs on its imports as a vital source of state revenue, which makes products in Tunisia more expensive compared to Libya.
Added to this are the state subsidies that Libya used to apply to many products during the Qaddafi era, and still does to fuel today, which have resulted in large price disparities resulting in a constant flow of goods being smuggled to Tunisia (and other neighbouring African states).
Qaddafi used to turn a blind eye to (or actively encourage) smuggling to neighbouring state as a form of soft power.
However, since the Qaddafi regime was ended in 2011, Libya’s economy has weakened and its need for hard currency has increased dramatically leading to a huge devaluation of the Libyan dinar and increased prices.
The crackdown on smuggling at the Libyan Tunisian border is part of an overall effort to reduce Libya’s import bill, save on hard currency reserves to protect the exchange rate of the Libyan dinar, keep a high supply of goods in the Libyan market and keep prices down – especially during the high demand fasting month of Ramadan.
