Mexican Authorities Raid Secret Tunnel Used for Huachicol and Drug Storage Near Pemex Pipeline

Mexican security forces have dismantled a 22-meter-long underground tunnel near the rural community of Sayula that authorities say was built to siphon fuel from a state-owned pipeline and store illicit drugs.

The Hidalgo state attorney general’s office reported that the tunnel connected to two illegal taps drilled into an underground conduit. Security teams also recovered narcotics from the site during the raid.

While officials did not publicly identify the pipeline, location data matched publicly available energy ministry maps showing a major Pemex line running from the Tula refinery in Hidalgo to the Salamanca refinery in Guanajuato state.

When journalists visited the property on February 19, Army and National Guard personnel were stationed around the site. A banner declaring the premises seized was posted at the entrance.

Background: Huachicol

Huachicol – the illegal extraction and sale of fuel – has evolved from small-scale pilfering by local gangs into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise controlled by powerful criminal organizations. Thieves typically excavate tunnels from private land to reach buried pipelines, then siphon gasoline, diesel, or crude using sophisticated engineering to avoid triggering pressure-drop alarms at Pemex monitoring stations.

The stolen product is often bottled in glass or plastic containers and sold at steep discounts to legitimate stations, fueling a parallel black market. The fuels are extremely volatile; mishandling has caused catastrophic accidents, most notably the 2019 Tlahuelilpan pipeline explosion in Hidalgo that killed at least 137 people.

Statistics and Status

• Pemex Reporting: Pemex reported discovering 11,774 illegal taps across its network in 2024 alone. In a U.S. regulatory filing last year, the company acknowledged that anti-huachicol measures have not yet delivered lasting reductions in losses.

• Arrests: No arrests were announced in connection with the Tepetitlán tunnel. The Hidalgo attorney general’s office provided limited details and did not respond to further questions.

The discovery highlights the persistent technical ingenuity and economic scale of fuel theft in Mexico, where criminal groups continue to exploit vulnerabilities in the country’s extensive pipeline infrastructure despite repeated government crackdowns.