A gas station manager in Houston suspects thieves stole hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel through a trap door underneath a minivan.
Jerry Thayil, who manages Fuqua Express gas station on Houston's southwest side, told Houston NBC station KPRC that he first noticed something was wrong while doing inventory checks.
A check on the store's security cameras showed a dark-colored minivan parking over the store's fuel storage tanks on multiple occasions, the report said.
“At first we were like, 'I wonder what he’s doing there,' because we didn’t see anyone get out of the vehicle. But then, we realized there’s probably a trap door inside the vehicle and he’s pumping like that,” Thayil told KPRC.
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Thayil said the family-owned business was hit three times for about 350 gallons of diesel per day. On the fourth attempt, Thayil tried to chase down the driver, who sped away.
Thayil said a police report has been filed.
