Not only in India: UK authorities find kerosene-mixed diesel at pumps

Adulteration of diesel with kerosene may be most rampant in India – given the large difference in the retail price of the two fuels – but it is not unheard of even in developed markets, where such things are generally not supposed to happen.

This week, UK customs officials seized over 200,000 litres diesel fuel adulterated with kerosene at a filling station in Bedfordshire.

The highly combustible kerosene, which has a lower duty rate than road diesel, had been added to legitimate diesel in a process known in the UK and elsewhere as 'stretching'. While the mixture does not seem to immediately affect vehicle performance, it plays silent havoc with the engine.

This almost sounds like an echo of India from abroad. But unlike in India, where truck drivers are often in collusion with sellers of adulterated diesel, the lorry drivers who had already filled up at the pump near junction 13 of the M1 had done so unwittingly.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said on Friday, ''Innocent truckers have unwittingly paid forecourt prices to fill their tanks with adulterated, non-regulated diesel.''

The illicit fuel was detected by fuel testing officers on Wednesday. Eight fuel pumps were immediately sealed off and the contaminated fuel was taken away for destruction.