Overview
- A court‑authorized search of a storage terminal in La Fragua, San José Iturbide on September 17 resulted in the seizure of 59,036,870 liters of fuel and related assets including 10 tanks, transport units and paperwork.
- The probe began after authorities detained a tanker driver on July 3 whose load lacked accredited traceability, and later searches in July–September linked a gas station and an LP dispatch site to the case.
- The FGR says it has not received complete, conclusive documentation from all companies to prove the fuel's legal origin, so it transferred the file to the Fiscalía Especializada en materia de Delincuencia Organizada to reconstruct ownership and trace financial and fiscal flows.
- Grupo SIMSA and Gas Natural del Noroeste deny wrongdoing, say the terminal operates under federal and environmental permits, describe themselves as storage custodians not owners, and say they have provided records to authorities.
- Federal security officials have signaled arrests may follow large seizures, and the case is likely to intensify scrutiny of permit approvals and local governance after years of expansion at the La Fragua terminal and repeated community safety complaints.