The commander of the European operation in the Mediterranean Irini, Stefano Torchetto, ruled out stopping oil smuggling operations in Libya soon, according to the Italian Nova news agency.

“It is expected that oil smuggling in Libya will not stop anytime soon,” Torchetto said, during a panel discussion entitled “Combating Illicit Trade in the Central Mediterranean, the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea”, organized yesterday, Thursday, by IRINI and the European Union representative for the Sahel region, Emanuela del Rey. 

“The continued presence of criminal organizations involved in the illicit trade and profit expectations make it expected that oil smuggling will not stop soon,” he continued, referring to the growing phenomenon with the exacerbation of instability in the aftermath of the civil war in 2011.