Gas thieves in Texas are making it big, stealing thousands of dollars in liquid gold as fuel prices skyrocket, Texas law enforcement officials tell The Post.
In the Houston area, gasoline is stolen everywhere it’s found — from gas stations to construction sites — and often ends up on the black market, law enforcement officials said.
“It is certainly no coincidence that gas prices are high and we see it. Every time commodities increase in value, their price on the black market also increases,” said Capt. Jonathan Zitzmann of the Harris County District 4 Police Department.
In the past week there have been at least two major gasoline thefts totaling $15,000 in stolen gasoline.
“That’s probably the most we’ve seen stolen from a gas station in a long time,” Zitzmann said.
On Monday, owners of a Chevron gas station near Spring, Texas found they were missing hundreds of gallons of gas Station owner said KHOU. Surveillance video shows several heavy pickup trucks stealing 1,754 gallons of diesel fuel worth $8,331.50, the official said Harris County District 4 Police Officer’s Office. The thieves used a fuel bypass device.
In another incident, a trap door on a minivan was used to steal gas from underground gas tanks. Khou reports. Surveillance video shows a dark-colored van parked over the gas caps.
“The way they did it was very sneaky. They had a trapdoor in their vehicle and they put a hose there,” gas station owner Jerry Thayil told KHOU, adding that the same van stole over 1,000 gallons of fuel over several days.
A third gas heist was foiled by a police officer who noticed suspicious activity at a construction site. to KHOU. Three men were caught with $1,800 worth of diesel fuel.
https://nypost.com/2022/03/16/high-gas-prices-lead-to-spike-in-major-gas-thefts-in-houston/ High gas prices are leading to an increase in large scale gas thefts in Houston
