NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE (WSVN) — Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested four men accused of running a “large-scale” gasoline theft operation across Broward County.
According to BSO, the suspects siphoned diesel fuel from multiple gas stations, using vehicles modified with massive storage tanks.
Detectives with the BSO Burglary Apprehension Team and Pembroke Pines Police tracked the group to the Wawa gas station at 1675 West Oakland Park Blvd. in Oakland Park on March 4.
At the scene, detectives said they observed a Honda Odyssey parked over an underground fuel cap, actively siphoning fuel through a hose.
Two additional vehicles, a Ford Expedition and a Ford Transit van, were used to transport the stolen fuel, according to BSO.
Shortly after, officers followed the Honda Odyssey and Ford Expedition to a Chevron gas station at 3099 West Oakland Park Blvd., where they conducted a felony stop and arrested Blas Duran, Eusebio Claro and Noel Gonzalez. Orlando Diaz was arrested near the Wawa station in the Ford Transit van.
Investigators found that the vehicles had been retrofitted with massive storage tanks, some already filled with stolen fuel.
The suspects allegedly extracted fuel from the underground tanks at gas stations, transferred it into the Honda Odyssey, and then offloaded it into 1,000-gallon tanks inside the Ford Transit van, while a lookout in the Ford Expedition kept watch.
The suspects face multiple charges, including retail fuel theft, unlawful conveyance of fuel and grand theft.
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