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Thieves handed 2-year jail term day after being caught stealing diesel from HGV

Actions taken by Italian road police to counter diesel theft at laybys and rest areas in the Piedmont and Aosta Valley regions has led to 2 persons being sentenced within 24 hours of their arrest.

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According to local newspaper Il Piccolo, at around 11.30pm on April 6th, 2 Romanian lorry drivers were caught stealing fuel from a Ukrainian lorry on the A21 in the Pontecurone area.

Police learned that 300 litres of fuel had been stolen from the Ukrainian lorry, whose driver claims he was totally unaware of what had happened.

After stealing the diesel, the duo in the Romanian-registered lorry continued their journey in the direction of Turin.

However, the truck was stopped by officers soon afterwards. A DIY container for stolen fuel was found onboard the vehicle, as were an electric pump and pipes that been used to extract fuel from other trucks quickly.

The two men were immediately arrested and ended up being sentenced to prison the next day. The thieves appeared before the court in the town of Alessandria, where they were sentenced to 2 years in prison and also handed a €200 fine.