Mexican prosecutors said Tuesday they have caught the leaders of a drug gang that stole at least 41,400 gallons (157,000 liters) of fuel from government pipelines.
The attorney general's office did not identify the gang, but the arrests were made in the border city of Reynosa. Located across from McAllen, Texas, Reynosa is dominated by the Gulf drug cartel.
The office said two men and a woman arrested last week in Reynosa with 53 small bags of heroin. It said one of those suspects was the leader of the fuel-theft operation, and all three were charged Monday with organized crime and fuel theft.
Earlier, eight other members of the gang had been arrested and charged with drug trafficking, weapons possession and fuel theft.
Those raids netted 236 trucks, guns and 41,476 gallons (157,000 liters) of stolen fuel.
Thieves and drug gangs have taken to drilling illegal taps into pipelines carrying gasoline and diesel.
Such thefts have risen by about 55 percent this year, reaching almost 500 per month.
