Federal authorities have dismantled a major fuel theft network operating across central Mexico, arresting 32 suspects in coordinated raids across Mexico City, México state, and Querétaro.
The operation, executed last Friday following six months of intelligence work, targeted one of the region’s principal criminal organizations dedicated to stealing and illegally selling fuel from Pemex pipelines.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch confirmed that authorities successfully captured the network’s main leaders, including Cirio Sergio Rebollo Mendoza (known as “Don Checo”) and Luis Miguel Ortega Maldonado (nicknamed “Flaco de Oro”). Both face organized crime charges.
The criminal group’s operations extended across México state, Hidalgo, and Querétaro. Their method involved drilling into pipelines to extract LP gas and gasoline, which they stored in warehouses before distributing to gas stations through an illegal distribution network.
More than 700 personnel from the Mexican Army, Navy, National Guard, and federal and state police participated in the raids. Authorities seized substantial assets during the operation, including:
- 21 tractor-trailers and 8 tanker trucks
- 48 cars (some armored)
- 36 firearms
- Nearly 16 million pesos (approximately US $850,000) in cash
- Exotic animals including a jaguar cub, a lion cub, parrots, and spider monkeys
In a separate but related operation in Coahuila, authorities arrested 11 additional suspects and seized almost 2 million liters of fuel.
President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the operations during her Monday press conference, reaffirming her administration’s commitment to eradicating “huachicol” (stolen fuel) completely. She acknowledged that authorities are investigating the alleged collaboration between municipal police and the fuel theft network.
The dismantling of this network follows other recent anti-fuel theft operations, including the shutdown of a clandestine oil refinery in Veracruz earlier this month.
Read more about the details of the operation here.
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