Florida Law Enforcement Make Arrest in Sophisticated Fuel Theft Operation
By Rick McCann
March 14, 2026
ESCAMBIA, Fla. State law enforcement in Florida have discovered a highly sophisticated method to steal fuel and have made one arrest but others may also face charges.
The Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement have arrested a 26-year-old man in Pensacola for a a fuel theft operation spanning multiple counties, according to the state law enforcement agency.
Alain De Jesus Aguila-Martinez is facing felony charges of Larceny – Tampering with/Removing a Retail Fuel Dispenser, and he is part of an ongoing investigation into an organized fuel theft ring operating across Santa Rosa, Escambia, and Walton Counties.
According to state agents, he already had active warrants for multiple felony charges, including Organized Fraud, Retail Fuel Theft Tampering, and Petit Theft.
According to OALE, officers at the Florida Agriculture Inspection Station in Pensacola “identified a blue semi-truck pulling a refrigerated trailer that matched the description in a BOLO linked to a sophisticated fuel theft operation spanning multiple counties.”
The officers selected the truck for a regulatory inspection and identified the driver as Aguila-Martinez using his Florida Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), according to authorities.
“During the inspection, an OALE K9 unit conducted a free-air sniff around Aguila-Martinez’s 2002 Freightliner semi-truck and alerted officers to the presence of narcotics,” OALE says.
“A subsequent probable cause search of the vehicle uncovered a large magnet concealed under the driver’s steering wheel. The magnet was identified as a device commonly used to manipulate fuel pump solenoids, enabling the unauthorized theft of diesel fuel.”
State law enforcement said that this is an ongoing investigation.
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