Jerry Thayil, manager of the Fuqua Express gas station in Missouri City, says some $5,000 in diesel fuel has been stolen from their underground storage tanks.
Thayil says he first noticed something was wrong when doing daily inventory. Then, checking surveillance video, he spotted a dark-colored van parked over the store’s storage tank covers on three occasions.
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Thayil said about 350 gallons of diesel were taken each time. On a fourth attempt, he was present at the family-owned store and managed to interrupt the theft. The van sped away.
Thayil believes someone in a Porsche SUV was acting as a lookout while the fuel was pumped into the van through a trap door in its floor.
A theft report has been filed with police.