Four sentenced over theft and illegal sale of gas cylinders in Sancti Spíritus
Prison terms range from two to 12 years; two of those convicted stole cylinders from occupied homes at night and before dawn.
The Provincial People’s Court of Sancti Spíritus sentenced four people for acts involving the theft and illegal sale of liquefied gas cylinders. The prison terms range from two to 12 years. The proceeding was registered as case 14 of 2026 and tried by the First Criminal Chamber, which held the oral hearing over two days. The decision also established each defendant’s degree of participation in the offenses examined.
Two of those convicted stole cylinders mainly in the city of Sancti Spíritus during the night and early morning. The thefts affected more than 20 occupied homes, according to the facts presented at trial. The case therefore covered the removal of cylinders from inhabited residences and their later illegal circulation. The judicial information attributes the theft activity to those two defendants, while four people were sentenced in total.
The case included offenses of burglary, receiving stolen property and illegal economic activity. The court considered the participation attributed to each person rather than treating all four sentences as involving identical conduct. The reported terms range from two to 12 years, although the information does not connect each end of that range to a particular defendant. The ruling punished both the thefts and the illegal sale of gas.
The gas was stored in 10-kilogram cylinders, popularly known as balitas. In Sancti Spíritus’s informal market, the cylinders were offered for as much as 70,000 Cuban pesos. That figure describes the cited informal sale price, not compensation or an amount set by the court. It shows the value the cylinders could reach in that sales circuit.
The ruling therefore brings together four convictions for theft and illegal sale of cylinders, distinguishing between the total number sentenced and the two defendants identified as stealing them from homes. The offenses tried occurred in Sancti Spíritus and involved more than 20 occupied residences. The First Criminal Chamber heard the case over two days and determined each defendant’s participation before imposing prison terms from two to 12 years.