Saskatchewan business owner Ken Alm of Tompkins, Sask., said the theft of nearly 1,800 litres of diesel fuel from his yard last month is a crime that is becoming all too common in southwestern Saskatchewan.
On a weekend in mid July, thieves entered Alm’s property and stole the fuel from two highway transport trucks that were sitting on his unmonitored lot.
Alm and police suspect the thieves used a half-ton truck equipped with a slip tank and an electric pump to suck the tanks dry.
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“I’m not really happy about it, that’s for sure,” said Alm, who owns a fleet of highway trucks.
“I have a hard enough time buying diesel for myself, let alone giving it away.”
Ron Clark, a constable with the Swift Current Rural RCMP, said his detachment has received at least nine reports of fuel theft in the area over the past few months.
Most involve large quantities of diesel, often 1,000 litres or more at a time.
Diamond Energy, an oilfield service company based in Swift Current, has been hit three times. Bridge Creek Trucking in Gull Lake has been hit twice.
Clark said fuel theft is a common occurrence each year but this year’s rash of thefts is worse than usual.
He said the amounts of fuel being stolen suggest that thieves may be reselling it rather than using it themselves.
Police also believe that many of this summer’s thefts are related.
“We think that if we can identify the person responsible for one theft, we will probably identify the person responsible for at least a few of them,” Clark said.
He added that fuel thefts often go unreported because victims don’t realize a theft has occurred or they feel the chances of catching the criminals or recovering stolen fuel are small.
Clark said rural thieves usually target farms or remote areas where the chances of being detected are low.
Police say people who buy and store large amounts of fuel in rural areas should try to ensure that tanks are locked and well lit. Residents are also encouraged to take note of suspicious activity and unfamiliar vehicles.
Fuel tanks should be monitored as frequently as possible.
Surveillance cameras are also an effective deterrent.
In Tompkins, Alm has installed lights in his yard and he’s trying to avoid keeping fully fuelled trucks on his lot when the facility is unattended.
Putting locks on truck tanks is not an option because thieves would simply break off the locks and damage the aluminum tanks.
“And of course a lot of it goes unreported because there’s really not a damn thing you can do about it unless you catch them red-handed,” said Alm.
