Soaring fuel prices give ideas to some to steal large quantities of gasoline or diesel.
In Puiseaux (Loiret), 1,000 liters of fuel were stolen in a few minutes on August 22 from a supermarket service station, reports France 3 Centre-Val-de-Loire.
The arrested suspects confessed their method to the gendarmes.
The thieves first go to a first pump to make a small purchase by credit card, around 5 euros.
As long as the service station is not modern, the neighboring pump is also triggered.
The thugs just have to fill jerry cans there without paying anything.
This new technique is becoming popular with criminals.
An unbeatable price
Once they have collected enough fuel, they resell it at one euro per litre, a very attractive price that feeds a veritable black market.
The three thieves had applied the same scheme at another gas station.
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Orleans
Loiret
Flight
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Miscellaneous facts
Gendarmerie