Cairo- Police seized on Thursday 14,000 litres of the 80-octane unleaded gasoline, which a village chief in the Delta Governorate of Kafr el-Sheihk had stolen to sell to farmers and motorists, security sources said. The police also took into custody the village chief and his brother, whose names were not disclosed, when they raided their house earlier in the day, the sources said. The raid was prompted by a complaint from many drivers, who said the village chief had illegally obtained 14,000 litres of the 80-octane gasoline, the sources added. The police seized the gasoline, which has a street value of LE15,400. In a related development, the acute car fuel shortage has hit the nation over the past few days leaving thousands of truck standing idle in the governorates of Damietta, Fayyoum, Menufia, Beni Sueif, Sharquia, Qena, Aswan and Dakhalia for the seventh day in a row yesterday, the local press reported. Some drivers, who asked not to be identified, claimed that the Government has run out of diesel, or reduced the supply. Others alleged that the farmers' use of diesel-fired agricultural equipment was the main cause of the fuel shortage. No Oil Ministry official was immediately available to comment on this claim. However, the Ministry said in a press release that it had increased supplies of the diesel fuel. But, the gas station owners said that they had only received very small amounts of this type of fuel, which is demanded by the truck drivers. Reflecting the shortage, the lorries have been standing idle on this vital road, which runs from Alexandria to Cairo. In the meantime, the drivers demonstrated in Kafr el-Sheikh to protest against the fuel shortage, which they also blamed on bakery and tile factory owners. These facilities have affected diesel supplies in the governorate and brought the transportation movement and trucking industry to a noticeable halt, the drivers said, adding that work with agricultural equipment for irrigation and harvesting purposes was slowing down because of the shortage of fuel. Some Kafr el-Sheikh residents have expressed concern that the main power plants or bakeries could be shut down completely as a result of the fuel shortage caused by the low supplies and high demand by drivers, farmers and factory owners.
