A criminal operation made off with over 800 gallons of gas from a North Miami Beach station by stealing the fuel right from the pump, police said.
The crafty scheme, captured on surveillance video, began when men pulled up to the BP station at North Miami Avenue and 167th Street in a black pickup truck, detectives said.
One of the men went inside the convenience store, keeping the clerk busy while his partner in crime breached the pump outside. With other customers on the premises as well, the clerk didn’t realize that the men stayed at the station about 13 minutes – and when they drove off, police said, the pump was ready for the free gas to flow.
Once the suspects broke the meter to the gas pump, gas could run out of it continuously, allowing them to take as much as they wanted, North Miami Beach Police Det. Cora Mann said.
Next, the driver of a white SUV parked next to the rigged pump, got out, and began directing traffic to the free-flowing pump, police said. A man in a blue shirt then served up fuel for 15 vehicles that came through the station, police said.
“These are planned operations,” Mann said. “They are just not random gas stations that you go, you break the meter and then you say ‘Oh, anybody come along, here's free gas.’ No it doesn't work like that.”
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Customers shelling out their cash for fuel at the station Tuesday were not happy with the alleged gas thieves.
“I think that's horrible, especially in a neighborhood like this,” customer Gino Vasques said. “We're stealing from each other. It’s just not right.”
Said customer James Cadet, “It’s not fair for people to get free gas like that. So it's really not fair. I hope they catch these people.”
The owners of the gas station did not want to talk on camera, but said they are so concerned about this kind of theft that they have put up alarms on the pumps that put out loud sirens when potential trouble is detected.
The operation was carried out at other stations as well, according to police, who are investigating.
North Miami Beach Police detectives ask anyone with information to call them at 305-948-2940.
