Eight persons have been arrested by the Italian police on suspicion of smuggling diesel in six European countries, including Malta.
Gazzette del Sud said some 4,000 tonnes of diesel were imported to Italy and sold on in Germany, the UK, the Czech Republic, Romania and Malta, as well as Italy.
The racket started in 2013. It was not clear where the fuel was imported from, but there have been reports of illegal export of fuel from Libya to fund militias.