According to the “Current Situation and Perspectives on Oil Theft in Mexico 2016” report, organized crime profits estimated at 21 billion pesos ($1.2 billion) per year from gasoline theft. Each liter of gasoline is sold for about 4 to 5 pesos to retailers and 10 to 11 pesos to the average person and each barrel contains 74 liters of gasoline. The report was made by the Etellekt Security Risk Analysis Unit.
The report says that the Zeta Cartel obtains more than 7 billion pesos per year for their sale of the stolen fuel, while the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) receives a little over 4 billion pesos per year.
Mexican cartels are responsible for 94 percent of the raids on Petróleos Mexicanos’ (Pemex) pipeline network, leaving 5.05 percent to smaller gangs, many of them composed of people from places close to the pipelines, like Puebla.
The Zeta cartel, which can be found in the states of Puebla, Guanajuato and Tabasco, accounts for 78 percent of the illegal raids.