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Fuel Theft Ring Busted In Miami-Dade County

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Several people have been arrested in what's being described as a fuel and identity theft ring.

The Secret Service and Miami-Dade police are among the law enforcement agencies involved in the bust.

Eleven vehicles were impounded and 11 men arrested during Operation Fill 'Er Up.

"This is a group of individuals that very organized start by stealing credit card numbers from different people, different ways. Once they obtain these card numbers, they go to gas stations and they begin to fill these bladder trucks as they call it until they're full or the card runs out," said Miami-Dade Police Dept. Det. Argemis Colome.

Miami-Dade police said the trucks were rigged to transport massive quantities of fuel. The fuel was then taken to a yard in Hialeah, according to authorities.

"The gas is being sold for about half of what they pay for at the regular pumps and then the site makes about a 50 percent markup to the other people who knowingly go to these sites to purchase fuel illegally," Det. Colome said.

"People who are showing up to the yards according to our investigations, they know that this is illegal. They're showing up there illegally purchasing the gas."

Police said the men went to great lengths to conceal the rigged trucks.

"Some of these people have, as you've seen before, they have trees on top of them making it seem like a landscaping company. Some of them have very dark, tinted windows. Some of them put tires, rugs, all sorts of things they can think of to conceal these trucks," Det. Colome added.

Not only does the scheme affect the gas stations where the gas is being pumped and the people whose credit cards have been stolen, but it also poses a risk to people out on the road.

"These vehicles have blown up in the past, if they're involved in a traffic accident, they could cause a humongous fire. It's very, very dangerous to anybody that's around these vehicles while they're in the streets transporting this illegal gas to their destination," said Det. Colome.

Authorities conducted the joint operation during raids all over Miami-Dade County.

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