With fuel prices soaring, thieves got out their electric pumps and tank punches.
In Toulouse, transporters and public works companies are doubling their vigilance.
Beyond law enforcement patrols, professionals find solutions on a case-by-case basis.
Sunday evening, a 44-year-old man, unknown to the police, was caught siphoning off machinery on a construction site in the Minimes district of Toulouse.
He had already loaded two full canisters into his car and four more were waiting to be filled.
This fuel thief was operating solo.
Not the two teams surprised ten days ago, the same night and in the same sector of the Oncopole.
The six arrested were equipped with electric pumps, just to speed up the operation and did not hesitate to puncture the tanks, in particular that of a mixer truck.
As for the three men caught in the act at the end of March by the gendarmes in a transport company in Merville, they were not there for a simple full of relief.
They had already filled about twenty jerry cans and were preparing to take 280 liters of gasoline.
Expensive paid in the end since they were sentenced in the wake of a six-month suspended prison sentence.
“A point of vigilance”
So, is the fuel surge accompanied by an upsurge in siphoning?
"It is in any case a point of vigilance because we see a few thefts here and there, not necessarily in the large warehouses which are secure but on certain construction sites, at night or between noon and two", explains Julien Blanc-Galéra, the head of public relations for the Regional Federation of Public Works (FRTP).
The latter also wrote to the regional prefect two weeks ago to draw his attention to the problem and warn him that professionals could be led to seek the help of the police.
“Fuel theft is a recurring problem but it is exacerbated by rising prices.
It is necessarily more profitable to siphon off a heavy goods vehicle than a car, ”underlines Jérôme Bessière, the representative in Midi-Pyrenees of the National Federation of Road Transport (FNTR).
The manager recognizes that it would be hard to quantify the phenomenon and “the extent of the damage”.
But he observes that vigilance is being organised.
"It is not uncommon now for geographically distant carriers to accommodate each other rather than leaving their truck overnight at a rest area."
Mutual aid and streetlights
“System D” also operates in public works.
Reflexes develop on construction sites.
“Some multiply the restocking of gasoline so as not to leave full tanks.
Others take care to leave the machines under a lamppost where a crowd would be more easily spotted by local residents.
It's on a case-by-case basis, ”explains Julien Blanc-Galéra.
Professionals can also on the vigilance of law enforcement.
Gendarmes patrol around car parks and parking areas to remind drivers of “the basic safety instructions”.
Their safety referents advise companies on the right reflexes.
There are also safety caps for the tanks.
But according to professionals, they are little used.
Because the thieves are stubborn and end up piercing the tanks with a punch.
"Sometimes it is better to lose a big tank than to have a truck immobilized for repair", slips Jérôme Bessière.
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