More than 2 euros per liter of gasoline at the service station: “black gold” reaches historic sums and that gives ideas to some. In the town of Vinça, a small village a few kilometers from Prades, residents are carefully watching their cars at the moment. On the night of Monday March 14 to Tuesday March 15, 2022, several vehicles parked outside had their gasoline stolen. That’s what happened to Stephanie’s husband. He had parked his van right in front of their house:
On the way to work, his gas level was very low. He went to fill up, and he noticed that there was a hole in his tank. Shortly after, I saw on Facebook that we weren’t the only ones.
Five residents of Vinça filed a complaint with the gendarmes. All noticed… a drill hole in their tanks ! “This is the first time I’ve seen this in 25 years in the business.explains Vincent Sierra, mechanic in this village for 25 years. They used to siphon cars before, but a drill hole I had never seen. After that doesn’t surprise me much considering the price at the pump.”
– Arnaud Roszak
Reinforced patrols
Samples were taken from the victims, to find traces of DNA. For the time being, the gendarmes believe that it is not necessary to worry. They do not see a fashion phenomenon concerning the theft of gasoline. But while waiting to get their hands on the thief or thieves, the Prades company reinforced night patrols in the sector, at the entrance to the Roussillon plain.