The results of Mexico’s fuel theft crackdown

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Mexico’s Federal Police

has seized nearly 40,418 gallons of stolen fuel in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Sonora, and Morelos .

As part of the government’s strategy to fight fuel theft, federal authorities seized 18,414 gallons of fuel that were being transported in two vehicles in Tehuantepec, Oaxaca .

The Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection (SSCP) informed that the Regional Security Division had also seized a tanker truck in Chiapas. The seemingly abandoned vehicle had been reported stolen and contained 8,453 gallons of diesel and another 8,453 gallons of gasoline . A third operation in the same state led to the confiscation of 40 plastic containers full of stolen fuel.

In Hidalgo’s Huichapan municipality , the Federal Police found a hole with a one meter deep fuel pump that was connected to a Pemex pipeline.

In Sonora , federal agents seized 4,280 gallons of stolen fuel while conducting security operations at the Ciudad Obregón-Guaymas road.

The federal body pointed out that specialized agents had been deployed to protect strategic Pemex facilities and safeguard tanker trucks that are currently distributing hydrocarbons throughout the country.

Last Thursday , the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) informed that the government’s strategy for the investigation and criminal prosecution of hydrocarbons theft had led to the arrest of 435 people as of January 16 .

In a press conference at the National Palace , the assistant attorney of Regional Control, Criminal Proceedings and Appeals of the PGR, Roberto Ochoa Romero , informed that between December 1 and January 16, Mexico’s Public Prosecutor (MP) had initiated 1,831 investigations related to fuel theft , leading to the arrest of 435 people.

The PGR statesman added that 1,022 illegal taps had been identified and 1.14 million gallons of stolen fuel had been seized , as well as 965 vehicles, 33 tanker trucks, 42 tow trucks, and 11 firearms.