Kazakhstan sets up 59 checkpoints to stop fuel smuggling as Russia’s shortage crosses the border

Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry has set up 59 police checkpoints near vehicle border crossings to stop fuel from being smuggled out of the country, the ministry said on its website. All vehicles crossing the border are now being inspected for auxiliary fuel containers.

Since the start of the year, local police have recorded 255 cases of vehicles operating with illegal auxiliary fuel tanks. Of the offenders, 195 were foreign nationals, all of whom received administrative penalties. The extra tanks were removed from the vehicles.

The day before, Kazakh authorities said that in the previous two days alone, they had intercepted 61 attempts to smuggle fuel across the border in auxiliary tanks and canisters. Restrictions on entry by vehicles from “neighboring states” have been in place for more than a month, limiting motorists to one border crossing per day.

The ministry gave no reason for tightening border controls and did not specify which countries most of the violators had come from.

Ukrainian drones have been regularly striking major oil refineries across Russia in recent months, triggering a fuel crisis that, according to the Financial Times, has already directly affected around 50 million people.

Russian authorities are trying to negotiate fuel supplies from other countries, but many regions have imposed restrictions on gasoline sales, forcing people to wait in line at gas stations for hours.

The gasoline shortage has also driven residents of border regions to engage in what has been called “fuel tourism,” crossing into Kazakhstan to fill up their cars.