A spike in fuel prices has led to some concern about a potential spike in fuel-related thefts.
Greg Keffer is with G&B Fuels Inc., which distributes and supplies fuel to independent gas stations as well as to agricultural and commercial operations.
He told Global News he has not heard of an increase in fuel-related crime yet, but he certainly experienced it in the past when gasoline prices skyrocketed.
“We’ve had — not this round, but last round — people actually siphoning fuel out of tanks,” Keffer said.
“We had guys that would park their vehicles on top of underground tanks so it (fuel) wouldn’t get stolen.”
Keffer said he didn’t expect a lot of gas-and-dashes at retail sites, thanks to the pay-at-the-pump preferred method at most gas stations.
But he said he is concerned about what may happen in isolated, rural areas.
“The farmers that have irrigation pumps that aren’t close to their homes — they’re kind of scared to put fuel out there,” Keffer said. “Because it has been stolen in the past.”
There have also been instances in the past of thieves drilling holes in the fuel tanks of parked vehicles.
The Calgary Police Service told Global News that, along with siphoning gas from another vehicle, both forms of theft are “a lot of work for a minimal reward.”
Auto experts added siphoning gas has become much more of a difficult task over the last several years.
“All of the gas doors lock on the newer cars,” Tony’s Auto Service manager Shane Schinkel said.
Schinkel added it’s not impossible to get the door open, but even if thieves manage to get in, it’s difficult to get anything out.
“The gas door can definitely be broken open — you just break that off,” he said.
“But to actually get a siphon down into the filler neck — that is actually going to be pretty difficult on pretty much any modern cars.”
As for older vehicles, Schinkel said there is a cheap, quick fix.
“The only thing you can really do with older vehicles is to get a locking gas cap.”
CPS said anyone who has been a victim of fuel-related crime should report it.
Keffer agreed, adding that stealing fuel — whether it’s from a large retailer or an independent gas station — can have a big, costly impact.
“They might think they’re not hurting anybody,” he said. “But everyone pays, right?”
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