Iraqi oil smugglers arrested

US Marines boarded a tanker near Umm Qasr

US-led forces in Iraq have arrested 80 people and seized 47 vessels during an operation in the Gulf aimed at oil smugglers, officials say.

A US military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel George Krivo, said Iraqi personnel had joined British troops and 2,000 US marines and sailors in the ongoing operation.

"The purpose of the operation is to disrupt criminal and smuggling activity. We expect the anti-smuggling operations to intensify over the next 24 to 48 hours," he said on Saturday.

US officials said the smugglers had taken over the routes previously used by Saddam Hussein to export oil in defiance of UN sanctions.

Oil find

Coalition forces say they have recovered 24 oil barges, 15 empty barges, 10 land-based fuel pumps, eight oil boats and 50 vehicles in recent days.

The crackdown is a joint UK-US operation

Last week, coalition forces seized 1,800 tons of smuggled Iraqi oil in a joint operation by the British Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard, the UK Ministry of Defence said.

The oil, found aboard a Guinean flagged vessel, MV Marwan, was among the largest finds for coalition forces trying to stop smuggling operations.

US and British forces in Iraq have been trying to clamp down on rampant smuggling of oil and oil-related products since the invasion in March.