The arrest took place on Saturday, 5 September, during a road inspection carried out by the Loulé Territorial Post of the GNR.

When officers approached the vehicle, the driver reportedly abandoned it and attempted to escape on foot. He was caught by GNR officers a short time later.

A search of the vehicle uncovered 172 jerry cans containing fuel, each with a capacity of 25 litres, amounting to a total of 4,300 litres.

The man was arrested on suspicion of the crime of smuggling.

During further checks, officers also discovered that the vehicle itself had been flagged for seizure under the Schengen Information System. Both the vehicle and the containers of fuel were seized.

The GNR has not revealed where the fuel was being taken or what it was intended to be used for.

The case comes at a time when authorities have been paying increased attention to illegal fuel transportation in southern Portugal.

In recent months, police have intercepted a number of road and maritime fuel transports which are suspected of being linked to high-speed boats used to bring drugs from offshore vessels to the Portuguese coast.

Several tonnes of drugs have also recently been seized along the Algarve coast and around the Guadiana River, areas increasingly being used by organised drug trafficking networks attempting to bring narcotics into Europe.

Portuguese police and military authorities have stepped up surveillance along the Algarve and Costa Vicentina, including checks on illegal fuel transportation that could potentially be connected with these operations.