Hamdan, Iraq - Four months after the fall of Saddam Hussein, oil smugglers are operating under the noses of British forces and Iraqi police on the Shatt al-Arab, the main waterway out of southern Iraq.
Each day, dozens of trucks and fuel tankers wind the road along the waterway from the port of Basra, delivering their contraband to boats which sneak away into the Gulf waters with valuable cargo.
The smugglers communicate stealthily by portable satellite phones, and avoid anyone who might question them and untangle their secret networks.
Hands blackened by oil, a former engineer in Saddam's once burgeoning weapons industry, is now a smuggler. He waits in the harbor of Hamdan village for a 36 ton delivery of oil for his rickety old boat.
After he dodges military patrols, he'll receive US$500 for his labour.
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Saddam's son Uday, killed along with his brother Qusay last week by the Americans, was said to have been a key player in the illegal oil trade.
With Uday gone, smugglers look to cash in on the illegal revenue that was formerly dominated by Saddam's son, the civic leader said.
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