Over 22 thousand liters of non-compliant fuel were seized in two distribution plants between Gela and Niscemi, in the province of Caltanissetta, by the Financial Police and the Customs Agency as part of an operation to combat fraud in the fuel sector. excise duties and other indirect taxes on production and consumption. The soldiers of the Fiamme Gialle and officials of the Customs Agency took some samples of hydrocarbon present in the tanks to ascertain their flash point. To guarantee the timeliness of the control, we made use of the support of the mobile laboratory and the chemical laboratory of the Customs Agency in Palermo, thanks to which it was possible to immediately determine all the fiscal specifications, product and environmental characteristics of the product taken.
The investigations confirmed, in both cases, the non-compliance of the diesel with the expected commercial specifications. In particular, the flash point of diesel fuel, which must not be lower than 55°C in order to minimize the risk of the formation of flammable mixtures in storage depots, was found to be lower than 40°. In addition to the seizure of the non-compliant diesel fuel, two people held responsible for fraud in the exercise of trade were reported to the Gela Prosecutor’s Office. To combat fraud, every year in Italy the Customs and Monopolies Agency and the Financial Police carry out thousands of checks on fuels taken from roadside distributors and commercial and tax depots. “A poor quality product, although it does not immediately generate operating anomalies in the cars – explains the Customs Agency from the Guardia di Finanza -, produces, in prolonged use, negative effects on the engine gears and increases gas emissions. discharge beyond the normal limits established by European regulations for environmental protection”.
