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Thief gets away with 3,000 gallons of fuel

09:33 PM CDT on Monday, June 26, 2006

Police are searching for a person who managed to get away with 3,000 gallons of gas after they cut the locks off an underground tank early Monday morning at a station in the 1400 block of West Hurst Boulevard in Hurst.

Latif Abdul discovered the crime when he got to his station about 5:00 a.m. and a fuel tank monitor warned him a tank was low. He printed out a record that confirmed a sudden loss of 87 octane fuel about 2:45 a.m.

"It shocked me," Abdul said.

Abdul's customers were surprised as well.

"Man, that's crazy," said one customer. "So, how did they do it?"

Hurst police said they believe the crook needed specialized knowledge and equipment such as a large tanker truck. However, they said they have never seen a case like this one.

Contrary to popular opinion, Abdul said he only makes a couple of pennies a gallon on gas. He works seven days a week and makes a living mainly off store sales.

He said the stolen fuel will cost him about $8,000.

"It's going to take me at least five to six months to pump the gas to make that kind of money," he said.

Two years ago, someone beat up a driver and stole a whole tanker load of gasoline from a depot in Southlake. Police never solved the case.

Hurst investigators said they have few clues on this case as well.

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