Fuel theft surges in UK as prices rise, fuel worth Tk 3 crore missing every day

Following the start of the conflict in the Middle East over Iran, fuel theft from petrol pumps has also increased significantly. Industry analysis has shown that an average of about £194,000, or about Tk 32.2 crore in Bangladeshi currency, has been stolen from various petrol stations in the country every day in the last five months.

Forecourt Eye, an organisation working to prevent fuel theft, said that in the five months since February 28, the number of cases of fuel being stolen from petrol pumps without paying has increased by 20 percent compared to the previous five months. As oil supplies are disrupted due to the conflict in the Middle East, wholesale oil prices have increased in the international market, which has also affected the UK retail market.

According to the organisation, the monetary value of stolen fuel has increased by 48 percent compared to the pre-war period, reaching an average of £194,000 per day. At the same time, the amount of fuel stolen has also increased by 24 percent to about 108,900 liters per day.

Forecourt Eye analyzed data from 550 petrol pumps, which is consistent with the picture of 8,359 petrol stations in the UK.

The analysis shows that where there were an average of about 2,400 thefts per day before the war, this has now increased to about 2,872. These incidents include driving away without paying and claiming to be unable to pay after filling up.

Forecourt Eye also said that petrol pump staff are being subjected to verbal abuse, intimidation and even violent behavior from many customers angry about the price increase.

The company is starting to work together with facial recognition technology company ‘Facewatch’ to tackle the situation. From next autumn, more than 2,000 retailers will be given the opportunity to use the crime detection and reporting technology for free.

Meanwhile, fuel prices peaked in April, but fell slightly after a framework agreement between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in June. However, fuel prices have started to rise again after peace talks collapsed. Last week, petrol prices reached their highest since the start of the Middle East conflict and their highest level since 2022.

The UK government has said that action will be taken against anyone who unjustifiably raises fuel prices using the Iran war as an excuse. However, the Competition and Markets Authority has said that so far there is no evidence of large-scale price manipulation. Although it is investigating the reasons for the increase in profits of some supermarkets and retailers.

On the other hand, the British Retail Consortium said that competition in the market has kept fuel prices as much as possible under control. According to them, additional costs such as increased National Insurance contributions, packaging tax and the old business tax system are also playing a role in the price increase.

Source: BBC