Fuel theft crime wave sweeps Scotland as petrol prices soar
16 07 08 - 09:26 SCOTLAND IS in the grip of a new crime wave with organised thieves stealing tens of thousands of litres of fuel each day from farms, homes and petrol stations across the country. Record oil prices have made fuel a targeted commodity for gangs of criminals. Thieves are reselling the stolen fuel through independent, rural petrol stations or selling directly through a network of criminal contacts in Scotland's major cities.Police are now planning a severe crackdown on the crime wave. Lothian and Borders Police will tomorrow set up rolling road blocks in rural areas to stop traffic in the hope of catching thieves in transit. Strathclyde Police have launched a programme called Forecourt Watch to deal with the increasing numbers of drivers leaving petrol stations without paying.
The thieves are so skilled that they are able to sneak into a car park and siphon the entire content of a lorry's fuel tank whilst the driver sleeps in the cab.
Jim McLaren, president of the National Farmers Union of Scotland, foiled a robbery at his own farm in Perthshire recently. He said: "Thieves are going to ridiculous lengths now, where they are drilling through the sides of tanks, filling their containers with what they can, and then leaving it to run out. We're hearing about this happening to lorry tanks on lay-bys.
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Perhaps the same sort of people are doing this as who traffic women for sex and steal metals for recylcling. Perhaps they are not actually even Scottish.
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