High gas prices lead to spike in fuel theft
High gas prices lead to spike in fuel theft
The national average price of gas is currently around $4 a gallon
By Ehab Zahriyeh / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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Gas Prices
Everyone knows it’s important to protect your valuables, and with high fuel prices, that means the gas in your car as well.
With the national average price of gas is currently around $4 a gallon, a spike in fuel theft has followed.
Thieves have become more creative and more persistent in recent months.
- Earlier this year, bandits struck three upstate New York towns at night, tapping into underground tanks, AP reported. Nearly 1,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline, kerosene and octane gas worth almost $6,400 were stolen.
- A Bronx man driving a Dodge Ram van — rigged with two nozzles with hoses that were integrated into the side - was arrested in February crossing the Queens Whitestone Bridge. Tucked behind the driver’s and front passenger’s seats were two 55-gallon and one 300-gallon plastic drums filled with fuel, police sources said.
- Last week, an attempt by three men to steal natural gas in South Texas sparked a deadly blast. The explosion killed one of the bandits, and burned the other two. One of the thieves, an illegal immigrant, faces murder charges, according to multiple sources.
- In San Bernardino, Calif., a man stole so much gasoline from cars at a local ski resort that his pickup truck became too heavy and got stuck, the Press-Enterprise reported. Gino Daniel Cordaro, 41, was arrested last week when police noticed his Ford F-150, sunken in snow and mud, had a 200-gallon tank on the rear bed leaking gasoline.
- In March, thieves cut through the locks and fences of a vineyard, attempting to siphon gas from delivery trucks, Petaluma 360 reported. The general manager of Emeritus Vineyards spent almost $7,000 to repair the fences and replace the locks with new, better ones.
The increase in fuel theft has led to an increase of sales in theft prevention products, retailers told Fox News.
“Anytime gas hits $4 a gallon, we see more interest in products like lock gas caps,” said Shelley Whitaker, a spokeswoman for Advance Auto Parts, told Fox News.
But gas caps won’t deter every thief. Some have been brazen enough to puncture holes in vehicle gas tanks or cut the gas line.
