With some of the lowest retail fuel prices in the world, Libya has long been abused by criminals who have made enormous profits from the illicit trade of products like gasoline and diesel.

As international oil prices shoot through the roof, so have reports of attempted fuel smuggling. Some may get caught, but many groups remain seemingly untouchable. Libya’s fragmentation following the fall of Gaddafi in 2011 has led to a state dominated by armed and well-connected criminal networks (MEES, 20 May). (CONTINUED - 928 WORDS)