According to reports in the Dutch press, the men regularly traveled from Romania to the Netherlands to carry out assignments in Western Europe for a Dutch road transport company.
This included work in Belgium, where they committed three fuel thefts on January 18th and February 3rd of last year. The Romanian nationals drove their Mercedes lorry to an industrial parking lot in Riemst and used equipment to siphon 900 litres of diesel from other trucks.
The Mercedes was nonetheless picked up by a CCTV camera used by one of the businesses in the area. That allowed the vehicle to be identified, leading to the intercept of the lorry in Tongeren on March 3rd 2022.
Inside the truck, inspectors found three hoses with traces of fuel, as well as a grinder, a drill, a crowbar and a fuel cap.
Intelligence from the Dutch police showed that the men were already known for having stolen fuel on three occasions in 2021.
In court, the duo pleaded guilty to the thefts and claimed they did not have the financial means to refuel their vehicle themselves. The men were sentenced to 14 months in prison and must also pay a fine of €1,600.
Photo: Rab,Driver of P300NJB @Grampian Continental.., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped and used for illustrative purposes only)
