Petrol thieves on the prowl

BUSINESS owners operating petrol stations are losing thousands to crafty feul thieves. This after three incidents where people have driven off without paying for petrol. One man, a truck driver, made off with R2 017 worth of diesel from a BP service station near Sibaya in the most recent case.

The Durban North police have urged petrol attendants and station owners to ask drivers to switch off their cars while they are filling up. Lt Raymond Deokaran, communications officer for the station, said there has been a spate of petrol theft incidents over the past two months.

“Some petrol stations in America demand upfront payment from motorists for fuel, maybe we should begin implementing that system here. Most of the incidents occur in the early hours of the morning or late at night,” he said.

Blue Security has also warned garage owners to be vigilant following a spate of fuel theft incidents in Durban North over the past week (Two feul theft cases were reported at petrol stations on North Coast Road and Athlone Drive).

The company’s managing director Darryn Le Grange advised garage owners to install CCTV cameras with highly visible signage warning that everything was being recorded.

“It’s also important for staff to remember to always record the registration numbers of vehicles that fill up at the garage before customers are allowed to put fuel in their tanks,” Le Grange said.

“Some garage owners have also invested in pumps that enable staff to siphon petrol out of vehicle tanks to deal with instances where ‘chancers’ claim that they “forgot” their bank cards at home in a bid to drive off and never return to make payment.”