Dallas Police are investigating how thieves drove off with thousands of gallons of free gasoline from My-T-Quick Food Store on Gannon Lane. Surveillance video shows one driver after another topping off their tanks without paying a penny.
"We watched it for 3 hours," store owner Nafees Ahmed said. "One car comes when another leaves."
Ahmed suspects someone has cracked the code to their computer system and shared it with a few of his closest gas guzzling friends.
"They had some device that looks like a remote control and they use that to decode the system inside," said Kash Jamil, manager of the store.
Within the past two nights, drivers stole more than 1,200 gallons of gasoline from the gas station on the Dallas-Duncanvville border. "It’s a felony, the amount of gas that’s being stolen," said Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Kevin Janse.
While the gas station is technically within Dallas city limits, surveillance video shows a Duncanville police officer pull over a Chevy Avalanche in the parking lot.
While the officer doesn't realize what's happening, the driver of the Avalanche does, returning minutes later to top off his tank. "This hurts. We work 12, 14 hours-a-day and we are trying to make money and these people come and steal," said Ahmed.
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Police are working with the gas station and its supplier to determine how thieves have been able to compromise the security system. "If they're doing this at this store, what’s to say they are not doing it at other stores," said Janse.
So far, the thefts have cost My-T-Quick Food Store $4,000. If the thefts continue, all drivers will eventually bear the cost -- except of course, for those stealing the gas.
"If gas companies start losing their supply, then the prices are going to go up," said Janse. "It’s something that’s going to affect us all."
