With fuel prices hitting new highs, a gas station lost thousands of gallons of diesel after thieves allegedly pulled off a 'trap door' heist the likes of which it's never experienced.
Pump prices were already on the rise as the world emerged on the other side of the pandemic; restrictions being lifted brought on a global oil price surge, made even worse by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
With record-high energy bills set to hit homes next month, it's a tough time for everybody's wallets. However, one gas station in the US may have fallen victim to a particularly audacious heist.
The alleged theft took place at Fuqua Express gas station, located in southwest Houston, Texas. Jerry Thayil, who runs the business, noticed a deficiency in his petrol stores three days in a row last week; around 350 gallons of diesel each day.
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Confused at how he could be losing so much fuel, he started combing through surveillance footage for an answer.
'I started seeing this van just parked over there,' he explained to KHOU 11 News. The green van pulled up over three lids on the ground that allow people to access the fuel stores underneath the pumps.
'The way they did it was very sneaky. They were doing it in front of so many people – so many different customers,' Thayil continued.
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'They had a trap door in their vehicle and they would put a hose down there and suck it out with the pump. Each time they were there about 15 to 20 minutes... in a high traffic time.'
The thieves reportedly visited the station three times, and even attempted a fourth, all while a black SUV parked nearby played lookout. 'We had locks on our fill caps. Still they were coming in and ... I think they were locking it with their own locks,' Thayil said.
Believing to have caught them on their final attempt, Thayil took after the van. 'I need to have them see me going after them and to scare them away,' he said.
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Over the course of the three days, the alleged thieves stole more than 1,000 gallons of diesel, costing Thayil and his family around $5,000.
Particularly with fuel prices so high, 'in this kind of job, every penny counts', Thayil said. 'We can’t afford to lose a single more gallon.'
While he spoke to local law enforcement just hours before the last attempted robbery, he's appealed to anyone with information to contact Houston Police.
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Cameron Frew