Even in Yucatán, criminals known as “Huachicoleros” have tried to benefit from Pemex pipelines

In 2021, 64,100 liters of fuel were recovered, the equivalent of the load of two pipelines

MÉRIDA, Yuc.- Huachicol (fuel theft) in Yucatán, is a crime that has not been completely eradicated, since only from January 1 to October 24, 2021, four clandestine outlets were secured in the state: three in Progreso and one in Mérida.

Likewise, 64,100 liters of fuel were recovered, the equivalent of the load of two pipelines, according to the federal government’s report on the public safety situation in the territory.

Two pipelines cross Progreso, where more than 42,000 people live. They run from the dock to the side of the Merida-Progreso highway.

The pipelines targeted by criminals are: number 12, which runs from Progreso to CFE Merida; number 8 and 10, always starting in the port and ending in the Yucatan capital.

On September 26, 2020 a clandestine pipeline was found in a property in the center of Progreso, which was being used to milk Pemex pipelines.

The smell of fuel and the movement of units in the area alerted neighbors, who requested the support of personnel from the National Guard, State Police, Federal Police and Pemex security.

On the afternoon of September 29, 2020, with a search warrant granted by a judge, agents entered a property on 84th Street between 29th and 31st in the center of Progreso, where they detected the clandestine outlet, which went directly to a Petróleos Mexicanos pipeline. No one was arrested.

Neighbors confirmed that foreigners had rented the house months ago and that at night the movement of vehicles entering and leaving was abnormal for the area. The smell of gasoline alerted the local residents.

On July 15, 2021, two pipeline operators were detained on the Merida Periferico, because they could not document the fuel they were transporting. They were coming from Tabasco and their destination was the Flamboyanes police station, municipality of Progreso, where they would unload the fuel in a private property.

It should be remembered that on July 18, 2018, there was an explosion in the Pemex subway network on the Merida-Progreso highway, which left at least two dead, one from Puebla and one from Tabasco, who along with five other individuals arrived in two vehicles and perforated the pipeline to “milk” it, without the knowledge that at that time fuel was being pumped from the Storage and Distribution Terminal to the Merida terminal.

The affected pipeline had three branches for transporting turbosine, gasoline and diesel; the second was the one that burst. The accomplices managed to escape.

The Yucatan Times
Newsroom

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