The stations, which served customers with containers of 25 to 200 liters of fuel, usually used by smugglers, were closed by representatives of Sonangol and the municipal administration.
Regarding the addition, the administrator of the municipality of Soyo, Lúcia Tomás, cited Angop, said that the closure of these filling stations will discourage the owners of other fuel filling pumps.
For the five stations in operation in that location, the orientation is to sell fuel only to users of vehicles and motorcycles, in the maximum capacity of their reservoirs, including those who buy to supply generators, by means of a certificate.
The official rejected the involvement of the military and police in this illegal and very lucrative business, taking into account that in Angola gasoline and diesel are sold at 160 kwanzas and 135 kwanzas, respectively, prices that in the neighboring DR Congo reach quadruple.
The deficit in enforcement along the border between Soyo, with several river channels and inhabited islands along the course of the Zaire River, and the Congolese town of Mwanda, facilitates fuel trafficking, which is a major concern for the authorities.
On a recent visit to that municipality, the Commander-in-Chief of the National Police, Paulo de Almeida, promised to reinforce the technical and human resources along the fluvial border of this region with DR Congo.
Paulo de Almeida admitted that the river border that separates Soyo from DR Congo is quite vulnerable due to its extension, allowing Congolese citizens to constantly violate the dividing line for commercial purposes, especially fuel.
This week, police authorities announced the discovery of large quantities of fuel, stored in a shipyard of a Chinese company, in Soyo, from Luanda and destined for DR Congo.
The oil province of Zaire, in the north of the country, shares 310 kilometers of border with the Congolese region of Central Congo, 120 of which by land and 190 by river.
