diesel smugglers?

Over the weekend several military commentators, among them surprisingly RADM K.R. “Raja” Menon (Retd), were featured on TV news shows. If I heard them right, they ventured that the boat ex-Pakistani port that had been tracked from the start and nearly intercepted by the Coast Guard some 350 kms plus off Porbandar before the intruding vessel blew itself up, was seeking to smuggle contraband diesel into India. This is a most remarkable conclusion and stands the smuggler’s logic on its head! The highest consumption is of light speed diesel. It is available in Karachi @ Pak Rs 67.5/litre, and in Porbandar/Rajkot at Rs 61.31/litre. The price differential is even more pronounced in the case of other more costly diesel derivatives (high-octane blending compound. premium, and high-speed diesel). The conclusion is stranger still because diesel, in any case, is hardly the sort of goods smugglers fearing apprehension seek to destroy. Weapons and other support paraphernalia for seaborne attack, however, is something they wouldn’t want to be caught dead with!

About Bharat Karnad

Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, he was Member of the (1st) National Security Advisory Board and the Nuclear Doctrine-drafting Group, and author, among other books of, 'Nuclear Weapons and Indian Security: The Realist Foundations of Strategy', 'India's Nuclear Policy' and most recently, 'Why India is Not a Great Power (Yet)'. Educated at the University of California (undergrad and grad), he was Visiting Scholar at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, the Shanghai Institutes of International Studies, and Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, DC.

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3 Responses to diesel smugglers?

apalwankar says:

January 5, 2015 at 12:14 pm

Sir,

1 INR = 1.6 PKR. Hence if Diesel is available in Pakistan at PKR 67-68 per litre, in INR terms it is INR42-43. That is a sizeable difference in terms of economic cost. However, I do concede it is quite far fetched theory that a fishing trawler would attempt to smuggle diesel and blow themselves up when apprehended.

Best regards,

Aditya

- Bharat Karnad says:
  
  January 6, 2015 at 8:01 am
  
  Your take on the comparative value of PKR is correct. What I should have added is the fact that smugglers do not take big risks for such small margins.
  
Abhishek Singh says:

January 5, 2015 at 8:48 pm

Bharat Sir, I think we should make a list of such people and keep an eye on them. Guess, would be a good idea if you can write a letter to NIA etc. so that this becomes functional. Even if 2% turns out right, it will be worth the effort.