The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division executed a series of search and arrest warrants on Aug. 12 targeting an alleged criminal enterprise trafficking in stolen petroleum products, the agency said in a news release. The operation was led by the division’s Organized Oilfield Theft Prevention Unit in coordination with local, state and federal partners.
The case is one of the larger asset seizures announced by the unit, which was created to address theft in the state’s oil and gas sector. DPS said the enforcement action grew out of a long-term investigation.
According to the release, the investigation focused on a Texas-based oil and gas company doing business as Vallee, which DPS said is suspected of participating in the organized theft and trafficking of petroleum products. Investigators have executed 17 search warrants to date in Reeves, Rockwall, Kaufman and Hunt counties in Texas, as well as in Garvin County, Oklahoma.
Six individuals, including members of the company’s corporate leadership, have been arrested on state charges being prosecuted by the 143rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the agency said.
The August operations also produced significant seizures under asset forfeiture proceedings, DPS said. Those include 60 motor vehicles and off-road vehicles valued at approximately $2.85 million, 34 luxury watches and pieces of jewelry valued at approximately $443,000, and $786,215 in U.S. currency. Investigators also seized roughly 2,600 barrels of petroleum products with an estimated market value of $220,402, along with eight bank accounts with estimated values totaling more than $8 million.
The operation was conducted in partnership with the 143rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, the Reeves County Sheriff’s Office, the Loving County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI El Paso Midland Resident Agency, the DPS Criminal Investigations Division North Texas Region and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, according to the release. The agency said additional assistance came from the Kermit Police Department, the Midland County Sheriff’s Office, the Ward County Sheriff’s Office, the Rockwall County District Attorney’s Office, the Hunt County Sheriff’s Office and the Kaufman County District Attorney’s Office.
DPS said the matter remains an active and ongoing investigation, and that additional arrests and seizures are anticipated. The release was issued by the department’s West Texas Region. No trial dates or additional details on the charges were provided.