Eight Arrested for Stealing Gasoline from El Palito Refinery Pipeline
Venezuelan Minister for Petroleum, Tarek El Aissami informed that, as part of the fight against the fuel mafias, eight members of a criminal gang have been arrested for stealing gasoline from the El Palito Refinery pipeline.
“We continue to advance in the Antimafia Plan,” wrote El Aissami on Twitter. “The PNB’s [Bolivarian National Police] Anti-Organized Crime Directorate has arrested eight suspects in the Los Tubos sector of the Yaritagua old highway, who belonged to a gang stealing gasoline from the El Palito Refinery pipeline.”
Seguimos avanzando en el #PlanAntimafias La Dirección Contra la Delincuencia Organizada de la PNB, detuvo a 8 ciudadanos en el sector Los Tubos, carretera vieja de Yaritagua, quienes conformaban una banda dedicada al robo de la gasolina del poliducto de la Refinería El Palito. pic.twitter.com/MnwYVfK3vM
— Tareck El Aissami (@TareckPSUV) January 21, 2022
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Minister El Aissami also posted a video showing the perforation in the main pipeline and the hoses attached to the perforation to extract and steal gasoline. The perforation was found in a part of the pipeline between the El Palito Refinery and the Lara state landfill.
Esta mafia perforó el tubo matriz (poliducto principal), entre la Refinería El Palito y el llenadero del estado Lara, para extraer y robar la gasolina de esta infraestructura, además de la amenaza y el riesgo inminente que constituye una acción criminal de esta magnitud. pic.twitter.com/D62aAusfyA
— Tareck El Aissami (@TareckPSUV) January 21, 2022
The arrests come after President Nicolás Maduro urged pertinent authorities to put an end to the fuel mafias that have hampered the regular distribution and marketing of gasoline in the country.
On Thursday, January 20, Attorney General Tarek William Saab informed that, of the more than 200 complaints that have been registered recently with the Prosecutor’s Office, 15 have already led to investigations and arrests.
Featured image: Gasoline stealing contraption applied to El Palito Refinery pipeline. Photo: Twitter / @TareckPSUV
(Últimas Noticias) by Aurig Hernández
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
