Published: June 27, 2008 08:05 pm      

Area police: Black market gas could be in future

By GREG JORDAN — TAZEWELL, Va. — Thieves filling up big vehicles with gasoline and driving away without paying are getting more common as prices go up, but they’re getting even bolder as the chance to make money goes up, too.

When certain people want an illegal or regulated item — guns or controlled substances, for instance — they will find a way to obtain it, said Tazewell County Sheriff H.S. Caudill. Basically, they don’t believe that rules and regulations apply to them.

This is the same class of persons who would seek out or supply a black market in gasoline. Caudill predicted that black market gasoline is something the nation could see in the future.

In some parts of the country, there have been instances of thieves using trucks equipped with suction pumps going to convenience stores and pilfering gas from underground storage tanks, Caudill said. He did not know of any instances of this in Tazewell County, but he said thieves could become even more brazen in the future.

“I think you’re going to see tractor-trailers hijacked,” he said.

Across the state line in Mercer County, Sheriff Danny Wills said he had not heard of gasoline thefts from convenience stores other than gas drive offs, but there has been more of those cases. The people doing this tend to fill up larger vehicles such as big pick-up trucks or SUVs.

“We’ve seen increases in the gas drive offs, and we’ve seen more convenience stores making them [customers] pay before they can pump,” Wills said. More stores also use surveillance videos to keep track of incidents.

When a drive off occurs, the word is radioed out by Mercer County 911.

“We catch some of them and some of them get away,” he said. “But people are getting slick.” There are cases where stolen license plates are put on vehicles before they are filled at the pump.

In the past, a gas drive off involving an SUV equalled a $40 loss for a service station. Now that has jumped to about $100, said Sgt. Michael Conroy of the Virginia State Police in Wytheville, Va.

The theft of gasoline and diesel fuel is also becoming a crime of opportunity that happens more frequently, especially from unsecured diesel storage tanks, Conroy said. Farmers and businesses often keep fuel on hand for their tractors and equipment, and thieves who see an unlocked tank will take the chance to steal.

With diesel selling for almost $5 a gallon in both Virginias, thieves are willing to seek it out. Conroy advised farmers and others to make sure their tanks stay locked , and to keep no more fuel than they are willing to lose.

“Definitely, people are siphoning gas,” Conroy said. “Generally, these crimes are crimes of opportunity. You need to secure your tanks as best you can.”