Former Governor in Mexico Becomes a Perpetrator of Under Invoicing Imports of Fuel

Illustration of police rushing to respond to a call to the crime scene alias TKP. (Unsplash-Martin Podsiad)

Mexico has arrested the former governor of the border state of Baja California, Ernesto Ruffo, who is accused of being one of the leaders of a multibillion-dollar smuggling network.

The trade in stolen fuel is one of the most lucrative criminal activities in Mexico, along with the drug trade.

The Mexican Attorney General's Office revealed that Ernesto was arrested on Thursday, July 17 after an investigation was held in relation to a large-scale fuel smuggling operation.

"This is the largest fuel smuggling network detected to date," Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said in a video statement, quoted by AFP, Friday, July 17.

Godoy said the smuggling operation was carried out by a port services company founded by Ruffo.

He added that the company officially imported petroleum products or fuels from the United States, but after arriving in Mexico, they declared a smaller amount or a different product than the one transported, alias under invoicing.

The fuel, he continued, was then distributed mainly in the northern states of the country, passing through customs control, before being transported to other areas.

According to Godoy, the network's financial movements showed transfers of more than 3 billion pesos (about $170 million) and foreign exchange operations amounting to more than $1.3 billion.

In September 2026, authorities arrested a vice admiral and five sailors from the Mexican navy as well as a former customs official and businessman, as part of a crackdown on fuel theft.