Tour Bus Fuel, 'Illegal Cocktail'... Caught Selling Mixed Kerosene

Distributors Caught Selling Diesel Mixed with Kerosene
Six Bus Drivers Also Used Fake Fuel

Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju.

Distributors who mixed heating kerosene with diesel and sold it, along with tour bus drivers who used the fuel, have been caught by the police.

Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station announced on the 13th that a distributor in his 70s, identified as Mr. A, was booked without detention on suspicion of violating the Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act. The owner of a gas station, Mr. B, who supplied heating kerosene to Mr. A, was also booked on the same charge.

Mr. A is suspected of selling diesel mixed with heating kerosene to tour bus drivers in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, on the 13th of last month. It was found that he illegally distributed the mixed fuel by carrying it in a truck equipped with a fueling device.

Six tour bus drivers who knowingly purchased and fueled their vehicles with the non-standard fuel were also caught. Police believe they used the fake fuel to save on refueling costs.

Heating kerosene is about 100 to 200 won cheaper per liter than diesel, but when used as vehicle fuel, it can cause air pollution and vehicle malfunctions. There are also concerns that it could threaten passenger safety.

According to the Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act, manufacturing or selling "fake fuel" by mixing petroleum products is illegal, and buyers are subject to fines.

The police plan to investigate the scale of fake fuel distribution and criminal profits involving Mr. A and others before forwarding the case to the prosecution.