A police chase in southeastern Iran ended in tragedy earlier this month when it caused an accident between two cars, killing four people. In the incident, on August 3, a police patrol attempted to stop a "soukhtbar", a local name for smugglers who transport cheap Iranian petrol to neighbouring Pakistan in cars equipped with makeshift plastic tanks. The fatal accident led to protests by locals in Iran’s third-poorest province, where unemployed young men are increasingly turning to fuel-smuggling to make a living.
A video posted on social media captured the moment of the fatal accident: a police pickup chasing a smuggler’s car on a desert highway, the two vehicles in the wrong lane racing into oncoming traffic. The smuggler’s car collides with another vehicle. Its makeshift plastic fuel tank bursts, sending fuel dozens of metres into the air. The police pickup briefly pauses, then, as the two smashed cars start to burn, it drives on.
In the video, filmed from a passing car, a man’s voice narrates: “They [the police] are chasing it. Oh my God, the smuggler hit another car. And look, they [the police] ran away.”
Other videos show a dense plume of black smoke after the fuel ignites.
Official news agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported on the accident and the death toll, saying the smuggler had been travelling at high speed, lost control and drove onto the other side of the road.
However, few state media outlets mentioned that the smuggler had been trying to outrun a police patrol. And none mentioned the police pickup truck filmed leaving the scene of the accident.
Initial reports of the crash on social media said that one smuggler died in the crash, along with a family with two children in the second vehicle. But police later clarified that two smugglers were killed in the first car, and two other men in the second car, not a family.
Police chase causes anger in Iran’s third-poorest province
The police chase and the initial reports that the victims were a family infuriated the residents of Jalabi, a village near the accident site. Hundreds of local residents blocked the highway for four hours, cutting off traffic between the province’s capital, Bandar Abbas, and its second-biggest city, Minab, until the police dispersed them.
In many recorded cases of accidents, police patrol involvement is one of the causes, either after chasing or even shooting at these cars.
Southeastern Iran, including the provinces of Hormozgan, Kerman, and Sistan and Baluchistan, is one of the poorest and least developed regions of the country. The lack of jobs, poverty, and the region’s location near the Pakistan-Iran border have created a lucrative but dangerous business: buying inexpensive petrol and diesel in Iran and smuggling it to Pakistan where it costs up to 20 times more.
“Soukhtbars", or fuel-carriers, have long been active in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan, on the Pakistani border, but Iran’s struggling economy has seen the practice expand to neighbouring Hormozgan.
According to two of our Observers in the region, both former soukhtbars, smugglers buy diesel for 2,500 to 7,000 tomans per litre in Iran (€0.04 to €0.10). The official price of diesel in Pakistan is 272 rupees (€0.90), meaning smugglers can make huge profits.
The smugglers equip trucks and even sedans like Iranian-made Peugeots or Citroens with makeshift fuel tanks known as “mashks“ made from plastic sheeting. They fill them with diesel or sometimes petrol, and drive at speeds reaching 200 km per hour to deter police patrols from pursuing them. They repeat the trip as many times as possible in a day.
People from other regions are turning to this job because of economic difficulties
Ahmad is one of our Observers in southeastern Iran. He used to be a "soukhtbar", or fuel smuggler. He explains the situation and how the business works:
It’s cold-hearted to say, but we are used to this kind of news. Not a week goes by without an accident. It’s sad.
A few years ago, this business was exclusive to Sistan and Baluchistan. But in recent years, with one economic crisis after another and prices constantly rising, people from neighbouring provinces, especially Hormozgan, are turning to this profession. The restrictions imposed by the authorities in Sistan and Baluchistan also play a role. There are restrictions on how much fuel you can buy at petrol stations in the province – unless you’re a well-connected local crime boss. Many soukhtbars, for example, refuel in Hormozgan province, where there are no such restrictions and fuel is cheaper."
Sistan and Baluchistan is the poorest province in Iran, with half of the population living below the poverty line. This border province also has the highest unemployment rate in Iran. Hormozgan, west of Sistan and Baluchistan, has also fallen deeper into crisis in recent years. It has the highest unemployment rate after Sistan and Baluchistan and is the third-poorest province in Iran.
Drive 'insanely fast' to earn good money
Ahmad continues:
"The soukhtbars in Hormozgan fill their 'mashk' [as the locals call the makeshift plastic tankers] and almost all of them take them to the coast of the Persian Gulf, where they transfer it to boats. These boats either sail directly to Pakistan, or transfer the fuel to larger boats offshore for transport to Pakistan. In Sistan and Baluchistan, soukhtbars drive the fuel overland through the mountainous border zone between the two countries.
Contrary to what one might imagine, the drivers, who take the biggest risk, do not get the biggest share of the profits. It’s the bosses, who have dozens of drivers, who take most of the profits. They give a small portion to the drivers, who either use their own cars or drive vehicles owned by the boss.
The bosses earn tens of thousands of euros a month while paying the drivers between 1.5 and 3 million tomans per journey (€22 to 44). A driver can sometimes even earn up to 20 million tomans (€298) in a day, but there is one condition: he has to drive insanely fast to multiply the rides.
'All this bloodshed is the fault of the Iranian state'
According to police in Hormozgan, at least 80 people died in the province in 2023 in road accidents involving "soukhtbars". More than 2,700 soukhtbar cars were impounded.
Soukhtbars' violent driving style – and the accidents they cause have created unease and fear on the roads among many locals.
It’s true, the soukhtbars drive like crazy and think they own the road. I was like that too. This style of driving is a kind of 'professional obligation' that understandably horrifies people. On the other hand, it has become a subculture among the soukhtbar drivers. They call normal drivers 'civilians'.
The dangerous driving is one of the reasons why I gave up this job for good. You get into it because when you cannot find a job, or a job that pays the bills and provides a good life for your family, and you live in a region where you have the potential to make easy money, you have no choice. Ultimately, all this bloodshed, the soukhtbars and other people who die in accidents, is the fault of the Iranian state.
