Police in Hampshire have apprehended a pair of suspected fuel thieves after the two were acting suspiciously when drawing fuel, with officers subsequently finding a 1,000-litre tank in the back of a van.
Officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Fareham Police were called to the Texaco filling station on Highlands Road in the town after the pair were reported for having multiple bank cards declined when attempting to pay for fuel they had drawn.
Forecourt staff believed the two had behaved in a similar manner previously, with local intelligence indicating they had taken fuel worth over £1,000 from filling stations in the region.
Fareham Police say the pair “magically managed to find the funds to pay upon seeing a police officer arrive”, and then claimed to have only purchased the van earlier in the day. Officers determined, however, that one of the pair had “been insured on the van for a number of months”.
Both suspects claimed ”to have no idea” where the keys for the van were, so officers forced entry with the assistance of a member of the public. After doing so, they found a 1,000-litre agricultural tank designed to store bulk water, but in this case holding fuel. The duo were subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft, and going equipped to steal, and officers seized the van.
Police say they were later “contacted by another couple of local petrol stations where the same van had tried the same thing earlier in the day”.
