As the price of gas soars, some fill up by stealing it

US gas prices they are so tall that some people are stealing fuel from gas stations to refill their own vehicles or resell it to other motorists.

According to local authorities, members of a criminal network in Tampa, Florida, were arrested last month after six men stole $ 60,000 worth of fuel from gas stations in the area. And in Duncan, Texas, thieves have been pointing at the same station at least a dozen times since gas prices skyrocketed.

Similar thefts have been reported in the United States, as Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine continues to raise gas prices to the frustration of motorists, according to CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave.

Thieves use a key that can be found on the Internet to play with the bomb to release unpaid fuel. They open the bomb and take as much fuel as they want, Van Cleave reported. Texas thieves came out with hundreds of gallons of stolen fuel at a time, a ploy they repeated over and over under the cover of the night.

By using a device to prevent the credit card reader from pumping and releasing unpaid gas, they were able to steal more than $ 7,000 in gasoline, according to the station owner.

“Road Bomb”

The owner of a gas station in Houston, Texas, believes he was attacked by someone in a van equipped with a trap that parked the vehicle on underground storage tanks and sucked more than $ 5,000 of stolen gas, according to Van Cleave.

“It’s extremely common. We know this is happening,” Dallas Police Sergeant Richard Santiesteban said.

Some motorists are stealing gasoline to fill their own tanks. Others are transporting hundreds of gallons home and operating illegal gas stations, where they sell stolen gas at a discount.

But carrying large amounts of fuel is in itself a risk.

“It’s a real bomb that’s on the road and that’s very volatile. It’s extremely dangerous,” Santiesteban said.

Criminals also target parked cars. While most new vehicles have plugs that prevent offenders from diverting fuel from tanks through the main valve, thieves enter under the vehicles and were drilled directly into the fuel tanks.

Nick Trujillo, a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, did not realize that he was the victim of a gas theft until he tried to fill his tank.

“I was driving to pick up food and I stopped at the gas station. I started to fill up with gas and gas was just leaking everywhere. I got under the car and looked at it and there was a hole under it. the gas tank “. he told CBS News.

In the face of these incidents, the AAA recommends that drivers park their cars in garages or safe parking areas.