logo
Mexican authorities seize nearly 4 million gallons of stolen fuel

Mexican authorities seize nearly 4 million gallons of stolen fuel

Arab Times08-07-2025
MEXICO CITY, July 8, (AP): Mexican authorities said Monday they seized about 4 million gallons of stolen diesel, gasoline and petroleum distillates from two abandoned trains in a state bordering Texas. The seizure came days after authorities said they had taken down a fuel theft ring operating in central Mexico with the arrest of 32 people. Mexico Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on X Monday that the two rail tanker trains were found near the cities of Ramos Arizpe and Saltillo in Coahuila state.
García Harfuch did not say where the fuel came from, where it was headed or whether it was related to last week's arrests. Mexico's government has battled fuel theft from the state-owned petroleum company Pemex for years. More recently, there have also been cases of fuel imported illegally into Mexico by organized crime to be sold without paying import duties.
Pemex has said in financial statements that between 2019 and 2024 it lost nearly $3.8 billion to fuel theft. Stolen fuel is generally referred to as "huachicol' in Mexico. Organized crime taps pipelines and diverts fuel to service stations forced to buy from cartels or sell it directly in the streets. U.S. authorities have even accused the Jalisco New Generation cartel of operating its own service stations.
The security chief said it was the largest seizure of fuel during President Claudia Sheinbaum's term. In both cases, the train cars appeared to have been abandoned and there was no paperwork showing where the fuel came from. In March, authorities seized a boat carrying some 2.6 million gallons of fuel in the northern border state of Tamaulipas' Tampico port.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Indian police arrest suspected scammer running fake embassy near New Delhi
Indian police arrest suspected scammer running fake embassy near New Delhi

Arab Times

time11 hours ago

  • Arab Times

Indian police arrest suspected scammer running fake embassy near New Delhi

NEW DELHI, July 23, (AP): Indian police have arrested a man accused of running a bogus embassy from a rented residential building near the capital, New Delhi, and recovered cars with fake diplomatic plates. The suspect impersonated an ambassador and allegedly duped people for money by promising overseas employment, said senior police officer Sushil Ghule of Uttar Pradesh state's special task force in northern India. According to police, Harshvardhan Jain, 47, claimed to have acted as an adviser or ambassador to entities such as "Seborga' or "Westarctica.' Police recovered multiple doctored photographs showing Jain with world leaders, and fake seals of India's foreign ministry and nearly three dozen countries, Ghule said. Jain was also suspected of illegal money laundering through shell companies abroad, he said. He is also facing charges of forgery, impersonation and possessing fake documents. Police recovered four cars bearing fake diplomatic plates and nearly 4.5 million Indian rupees ($52,095) and other foreign currencies in cash from Jain's rented premises, which were adorned with international flags of several nations. Jain or his lawyer couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Police arrest 11 suspects over 'honor killing' of newlywed couple in Pakistan
Police arrest 11 suspects over 'honor killing' of newlywed couple in Pakistan

Arab Times

time3 days ago

  • Arab Times

Police arrest 11 suspects over 'honor killing' of newlywed couple in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan, July 21, (AP): Police in southwestern Pakistan arrested 11 suspects after a video went viral, showing a young couple murdered for marrying without their families' approval, authorities said Monday. The disturbing footage caused an uproar in the country, with activists demanding swift justice and a stop to so-called honor killings, where family members target women who don't follow local traditions and culture or decide to marry someone of their choosing. The video, which surfaced over the weekend on social media and was viewed by The Associated Press, showed a man executing the young couple at close range in daylight as others stood by. Police confirmed the authenticity of the footage, saying the killings happened in the Deghari district in the province of Balochistan, said Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti In the video, several men arrive in pickup trucks in a mountainous region, and a young woman, speaking the local language, says she is legally married. "Come, walk seven steps with me, and then you can only shoot me,' she says. It isn't clear what she meant. A man follows her, takes out a gun and shoots her three times before she collapses on the ground. He then shoots and kills her husband before another man takes out a gun and joins him in shooting the groom. The video ends with both victims lying bloodied on the ground. Local police identified the bride and groom only as Bano Bibi and Ahsan Ullah and released some of the suspects' names, saying the provincial government had initiated the investigation as none of the couple's family members came forward. "The bravery shown by the slain woman is both humbling and remarkable, as she neither begged for her life nor showed any weakness,' said Farhatullah Babar, a Pakistani human rights activist. He condemned the couple's killing and called for strict punishment for everyone involved in the "brutal murder of the newlywed couple.' A tribal elder, Sardar Satakzai, ordered the couple killed after the bride's brother complained she married without his consent, said police chief, Naveed Akhtar. Both were among the 11 arrested in a series of raids and authorities were looking for nine more suspects, he said. The video was shot and posted by an unidentified person, Akhtar said. Honor killings are still common in Pakistan.

Libya deports 700 Sudanese migrants in crackdown on trafficking
Libya deports 700 Sudanese migrants in crackdown on trafficking

Arab Times

time4 days ago

  • Arab Times

Libya deports 700 Sudanese migrants in crackdown on trafficking

CAIRO, July 20, (AP): Eastern Libyan authorities have sent hundreds of Sudanese back to their war-torn home country, officials said Saturday, in a crackdown on migrants seeking to flee conflict and poverty for Europe by way of the the Mediterranean nation. Seven hundred Sudanese who were detained recently in central and southeastern Libya, were deported Friday by land to Sudan, the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration in eastern Libya said in a statement. The statement said some of the deportees suffered from infectious diseases including hepatitis and AIDS. Others were deported because of either criminal convictions or "security reasons,' it said, without elaborating. The deportation was part of an ongoing crackdown campaign on migrant trafficking in eastern Libya, which is controlled by forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter. Last week, the coast guard in eastern Libya said it intercepted a boat carrying 80 Europe-bound migrants off the eastern city of Tobruk. The campaign includes raids on trafficking hubs across eastern and southern Libya. A raid earlier this month freed 104 Sudanese migrants, including women and children, who were held in a trafficking warehouse in the town of Ajdabiya, about 480 miles (800 kilometers) east of the capital, Tripoli, according to town security authorities. Libya has in recent years become a transit point for those fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, and seeking a better life in Europe. Human traffickers have benefited from more than a decade of instability, smuggling migrants across Libya's borders with six nations, including Chad, Niger, Sudan Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia. The North African country was plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Oil-rich Libya has been ruled for most of the past decade by rival governments in eastern and western Libya, each backed by an array of militias and foreign governments. Thousands of Sudanese have fled to Libya since their country plunged into chaos in April 2023 after simmering tensions between the Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group exploded into street fighting across the country. They are among the more than 240,000 Sudanese migrants who live in Libya, according to the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store