Thieves finding new ways to steal gas

by Dustin Grove (grove@wsbt.com)

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Police say they're seeing more reports of thieves drilling holes in gas tanks to steal gas. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: May 27, 2008 at 4:39 PM EST

Story Updated: May 31, 2008 at 9:57 PM EST

Gas prices are making some people so desperate for gas; they're breaking the law to get it, and we're not talking about drive-offs. Police say they're now seeing a different kind of gas theft that can easily be deadly.

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At nearly $4 a gallon, the pain at the pump has reached a whole new level, and so have thieves trying to steal it.

"This seems to be a national problem,” said St. Joseph County Police Sgt. Bill Redman.

No longer are thieves just driving off without paying for gas or siphoning it out of the tank. Some criminals are apparently so desperate, they're now climbing underneath, drilling for gas.

It happened last week in rural Walkerton. A woman and her husband woke up to find their trucks on empty and a drilled hole in each tank. Police say 30 gallons were stolen.

“There's been siphoning I know that, but I haven't heard of anybody drilling holes in tanks,” one customer told WSBT News. “That's new to me.”

And authorities say it's not just here. They've also seen cases in other states this year as the price at the pump continues to climb. The message from police: not only is drilling a crime, it can also be deadly.

“We certainly want to make people aware of the dangers that are involved in that," Redman said. "Anytime you mess with a gas tank especially drilling a metal drill bit into a metal gas tank, all it's going to take is a little spark to ignite that fuel tank.”

Police say this actually isn’t new. They say drilling gas tanks was popular when prices soared back in the 1970s.

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