Monday, September 15, 2025

Market stand selling school uniforms masked a pipeline tap

Pipeline taps generally occur in rural areas, allowing thieves to go about their business in private. But Mexico City is also proving to be fertile ground: a pipeline running under a public market gave petroleum thieves an almost perfect cover.

Police in the borough of Gustavo A. Madero were conducting a routine patrol in a market in the El Coyol neighborhood when they came upon two men carrying 50-liter gas cans.

After the officers discovered the men were carrying gasoline they had a look at the stand selling school uniforms from which the two had emerged.

Inside were two more men busy extracting gasoline from a buried pipeline. There were 12 50-liter cans of gas nearby.

The four were arrested and their loot seized.

Authorities cordoned off the market while Pemex personnel repaired the pipeline.

Mayor Francisco Chíguil Figueroa said later that the pipeline tap was under control and presented no risk for residents of the northern Mexico City borough. He also made an open call to the public to anonymously report petroleum theft to the toll-free number 01800-228-6960.

Five pipeline taps were uncovered last week in Mexico City inside a tunnel that provided access to five different ducts.

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Culiacan

Threats of violence cancel ‘Grito’ celebrations in Sinaloa and Michoacán 

0
Mexico City's Iztapalapa borough will also forego celebrations out of respect for the deceased and injured in last week's gas explosion.
Jarritos truck sticks out from a sinkhole on a street in Mexico City

Sinkhole swallows Jarritos delivery truck in Mexico City

0
At least eight families living near the sinkhole have been asked to leave the immediate vicinity while authorities seek to identify the cause of the 8-meter deep crater.
crash in Yucatán

Highway accident west of Mérida kills 16, injures 2

0
A freight truck carrying beer, a passenger transport van and a private vehicle were involved in the crash on the Mérida–Campeche federal highway near the town of Kopomá, Yucatán.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity