Fuel prices rise as they attempt to empty a truck's tank: a couple reported

The skyrocketing prices at gas pumps are driving criminals to seek illegal methods to secure a full tank. Last night, in Vairano Patenora, in the province of Caserta, Carabinieri officers from the Capua Carabinieri Mobile Radio Unit foiled the theft of diesel fuel from a truck's tank. The officers have charged a man and a woman, both already known to law enforcement, with attempted theft.

Discovery and escape

The 112 emergency service was called around 00:45 a.m. from a local mechanic's shop. The owner's husband, noticing suspicious activity in the yard outside, surprised the two criminals as they were tinkering with a heavy vehicle awaiting repairs. Feeling cornered, the couple abandoned their efforts and fled in a car.

Before they disappeared, the witness managed to memorize and provide the Carabinieri with part of the license plate. At the scene of the attempted robbery, officers found and seized four empty plastic cans, ready to be filled with fuel.

The blockade in Caianello

Immediate searches throughout the area allowed the fugitives to be located in less than an hour. In the nearby municipality of Caianello, a patrol intercepted the reported vehicle, a Nissan Qashqai, and stopped it. A subsequent search of the vehicle dispelled any doubts about their involvement in the garage raid.

Inside the car, the Carabinieri found two rubber hoses approximately one and a half meters long, still soaked in fuel and perfectly compatible with the equipment used for the transfer. The equipment was seized, and the couple was reported to the Judicial Authorities.