As gas prices continue to climb in Calgary, some thieves are going to great lengths to steal fuel from unsuspecting drivers.
CTV Calgary has found several incidents over the past year in which brazen thieves had stolen fuel by drilling holes into the gas tanks of parked cars.
Calgary police say the most recent gas tank drilling incident was reported on April 26, at a northwest Calgary location.
The cost of replacing a damaged gas tank can range from $1,500 to $2,500. Additional costs include getting a vehicle towed to a repair shop, and fixing any other damages caused by the fuel theft, Scott Brockway, the owner of Glen Meadows Auto Service, said.
“We’ve had four (vehicles) that we’ve had called about and three that we’ve actually repaired,” he said.
On Wednesday, the average gas price in Calgary was $1.26 per litre, an increase of nearly 27 cents compared to May, 2017.
The increasing gas prices have also coincided with the number of “gas-and-dash” incidents, in which drivers fill up their vehicles at gas stations and take off without paying.
According to Calgary police, there were 291 “gas-and-dash” incidents in the first quarter of 2018, a 21 per cent increase over the same time period in 2017.
Since “gas-and-dash” thieves are “looking to obtain the gas and leave quickly … it could be that employees and other patrons could be in harm’s way,” said Staff Sgt. Graeme Smiley of the Calgary Police Service.
A new law in Alberta mandating pre-payment for fuel is set to kick in on June 1, and it could offer a solution to the problem. Starting next month, customers will need to pay at the pump or deposit either cash or a credit card with the gas retailer before fueling up.
“We certainly welcome this change in legislation which will very much hamper the ability for criminals to steal gas at the pump,” Smiley said.
With a report from CTV Calgary's Jordan Kanygin
