A short note about petroleum on the Algerian border. From the closed border to probably 100 miles in, one sees scenes like that pictured above on the highway and side-roads; men selling gasoline and diesel smuggled from Algeria. Most are diesel sales going to taxi drivers in their 1985 280SL Mercedes Benz. (Ahh.. I’ll forever have a sweet spot for that model, never forgetting the interior decor or that hog under the hood).
Smugglers bring petro across the border in 20 gallon tanks, often packed 30-50 deep in the back of a van. They then distribute the tanks in some fashion to middlemen on the eastern front. It then sells for anywhere between 5-7 dhms a litter. At Shell stations, it sellss for 10 dhms a litter.
A volunteer before us had a funny story of hitching a ride with smugglers. He was unable to get a ride by other means to a nearby town, so flagged down two men in a van and got up front with them, greeting the smell of liquid explosive that was in the rear. He said the men were in good spirits and it was an eventful trip with them singing, dancing, and smoking.
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