Law Enforcement Measures in Preventing Fuel Product Smuggling in Border Provinces with the Mediating Role of Intelligence Technology

Fuel smuggling plays a significant role in the underdevelopment of border provinces. This study aims to address this issue, particularly in Sistan and Baluchestan province. The present research is an applied study with a quantitative (survey) correlational design. The data collection tool is a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the Likert spectrum. The required information was collected from 45 experts in law enforcement, the governorate, and the fuel distribution company in Mirjaveh city, Sistan and Baluchestan province, who have mostly dealt with this problem in the year 2021. The sample size was determined as 40 according to the Morgan table, and three tests, including factor loading, Cronbach's alpha, and composite reliability, were used to assess the reliability, which confirmed the reliability of the research. Convergent validity was assessed using the convergent validity test (extracted mean variance). After collecting the data, the Smart PLS software was used for data analysis based on the proposed model, and the research assumptions were confirmed. Friedman test was used in the SPSS software environment for prioritizing the indicators. The research findings indicate that law enforcement measures, with the mediating role of information actions and technological interventions, have a positive and significant impact on prevention and combating fuel product smuggling. From the statistical population's perspective, regional coding of fuel cards, which relies on information technology factors, has the highest priority. Among the law enforcement factors, transferring fuel-carrying vehicles to parking lots and seizing fuel cards at the point of refueling have significant importance.