He continued his inspection by placing the SUV on a lift and “as soon as he put it in the air, everybody could see that somebody had actually drilled a hole into the fuel tank,” said dealer owner Mike Gross. Normally, Gross and other dealers are accustomed to thieves targeting wheels, tires, cash, and, of course, vehicles, but never gasoline itself. Stealing just three gallons of gas resulted in about $1,500 worth of damage to the Jeep.
Elsewhere in the US, gas thieves are taking away thousands of dollars worth of fuel at once. Even gas stations are becoming victims. One station owner in Texas reported $27,000 worth of stolen fuel over the past few months. He didn’t say how the thieves are managing to snag the fuel out of fear of copycats.
