Two nabbed after diesel knocked off NSW construction site sparks chase
A construction site in the Hunter Region gets hit at night. Diesel siphoned straight from the excavators, a stolen ute with a fuel trailer… and a bloke who allegedly swallowed fuel trying to get it out. With theft incidents up 30% nationally, this one shows how wild it is getting.
A construction site in the Hunter Region gets hit at night. Diesel siphoned straight from the excavators, a stolen ute with a fuel trailer… and a bloke who allegedly swallowed fuel trying to get it out. With theft incidents up 30% nationally, this one shows how wild it is getting.
Diesel theft on construction sites is surging across the country
A construction site in Black Hill, Hunter Region. Night time. Excavators sitting empty.
According to police, two people rocked up in a stolen Mitsubishi Triton with a fuel trailer and allegedly started draining diesel straight out of the machines.
Someone clocked it and called it in. But when cops arrived, the pair took off — still towing the fuel trailer — smashing through a locked gate and tearing through bushland for several kilometres before the Triton slammed into a concrete bollard.
Both ran. The woman got picked up shortly after. The bloke behind the wheel was tracked three kilometres through dense bush before a police dog sniffed him out.
“A stolen ute, a fuel trailer and a mouthful of diesel”
He swallowed the diesel
Police allege the bloke had swallowed diesel while trying to siphon it and vomited it up on scene.
He blew negative on the breath test but failed a sobriety check. Meth was allegedly found on both of them.
The Triton had been pinched from Rutherford the night before. The man is now facing charges for police pursuit, dangerous driving, larceny, drug possession and driving under the influence.
Bail was initially knocked back before being granted under strict conditions. The woman has also been given a court date.
Your site could be next on the list
Fuel theft from worksites is going through the roof right now. Industry groups are reporting a 30 per cent spike nationally, and with diesel prices at levels not seen in decades, unattended gear after hours is wearing a bigger target than ever.
If this one is anything to go by, the people doing it are not exactly criminal masterminds. But they are still getting in.
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A construction site in the Hunter Region gets hit at night. Diesel siphoned straight from the excavators, a stolen ute with a fuel trailer… and a bloke who allegedly swallowed fuel trying to get it out. With theft incidents up 30% nationally, this one shows how wild it is getting.