Police in Burnaby are looking for an alleged gas thief who was caught drilling into a vehicle’s gas tank on a home security video.
Eva Au was driving home from work with her brother-in-law last Tuesday when things went sideways.
“The car stopped suddenly in the middle of the road,” she said.
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Suspecting they were low on gas, they filled up a jerry can with enough fuel to drive their SUV to a nearby gas station so they could fill up the tank.
“As we pulled up to the pump, a passerby would stop us and say, ‘Hey, something is leaking out of your car,'” brother-in-law Randy Cho said.
“We stuck our heads underneath the car and the gas was just pouring out and it was starting to pool right by the pump.”
Firefighters who were called to deal with the mess told them they found a hole in the side of the tank.
In search of answers, Au and her husband Justin reviewed their home security video footage.
Around midnight on Sept. 8, someone was captured on camera using a power drill to drain the tank of their SUV, parked in their driveway, and carrying off the gas in a container
“He drilled a hole in the gas tank. It’s so dangerous,” Eva said.
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The Aus say the leak contaminated their lawn and their car is in need of costly repairs.
“The amount of gas, maybe $20, that he took. He caused a few thousand dollars worth of damage,” Justin Au said.
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“I have to replace the lawn here. I got a quote from the dealership, the gas tank can be a minimum $1,800 just for the tank.”
Burnaby RCMP say they are investigating and no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Burnaby RCMP.