When Trump’s war on Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in 2026, the decades-old smuggling routes through the mountains of Balochistan became one of the only ways for Iranian fuel to get out of the country.
Viral videos on TikTok and Instagram showed thousands of bikers gathered at the border between Iran and Pakistan, each bike loaded with hundreds of litres of fuel.
These riders, some as young as 15, are part of an old trafficking network that runs through some of the most remote and treacherous terrain on earth.
The BBC Eye documentary team gains exclusive access to riders who risk their lives to carry flammable fuel on the long and insanely dangerous journey across Pakistan’s poorest province — and sees firsthand how the US and Israeli war on Iran has led to a new fuel smuggling boom in the “Strait of Balochistan.”
Producers: Alex King and Kawoon Khamosh
Editor: Joshua Whitelaw
Executive Producer: Milène Larsson
Commissioning Editor: Daniel Adamson