Police Bust Tunnel Operation That Diverted About 100,000 Liters From Petrobras Pipeline

Overview

• Police raided a rented commercial property in the Federal District and arrested three suspects in a Saturday, June 6 operation, filing charges for qualified theft, criminal association, environmental crime and exposing the public to danger.
• Investigators found a tunnel cut to reach a Transpetro pipeline and say the group perforated the line, welded a control valve and ran a high‑pressure hose to transfer fuel into the building.
• Police and business sources estimate the scheme diverted roughly 90,000 to 100,000 liters of fuel over several days, and authorities summoned Transpetro and the Fire Department to assess remaining hazards and spills.
• Separate police action in Teresina on June 5 led to three men detained for siphoning tanker fuel and the seizure of multiple containers, underscoring that both pipeline and tanker thefts are occurring regionally.
• Investigators are tracing buyer networks and possible links to organized‑crime groups in Rio and São Paulo while warning that technical errors during taps can cause large explosions, local harm and supply disruptions.