Scam in the port of Colònia de Sant Jordi: more than 54.000 liters of gas subtracted

The Guardia Civil has arrested 8 people due to crime of scam and of fuel intake at a service station located in the port of Colònia de Sant Jordi.

The investigation was started by the Equipo de Policía Judicial de la Guardia Civil of Manacor, after a report filed at the beginning of last October by the administrator of the company that manages a service station located in the port of Colònia de Sant Jordi. 

In it, the investigators were informed that during the current year alone, a total of 54,388 liters of fuel had been stolen from the aforementioned service station. This quantity of stolen liters could have reached a retail value of more than ninety thousand (90,000) euros. 

After an exhaustive investigation carried out by the agents in which numerous statements were taken and different video surveillance cameras were checked, the only operator of the service station, aged 44, was arrested for a continuous offense of fraud.

The operator's modus operandi was to offer fuel at a price much lower than the current price, specifically at 1 euro, demanding as a condition that payment be made in cash, not allowing payment by card and not issuing any kind of ticket or invoice. 

To this end, once his shift was over and always outside the hours open to the public, the operator used his knowledge to open and modify the fuel dispenser that dispensed the fuel, modifying the digital counter, canceling the registered movements of fraudulent fuel supply.

So far, it has only been possible to count the number of liters defrauded during the current year, although the acts have been going on since the end of the pandemic, so the total amount defrauded could be much higher than the amount reported by the oil company administrator.

The main person involved and ringleader of the scheme was arrested for the crime of fraud continued over time, and the other 7 people, all of them users of the petrol station, who took advantage of the illegal origin of the fuel, were arrested for the crime of misappropriation. 

One of the detainees supplied himself with 1,653 liters, and after carrying out a search in the company of which he is the owner, more than 200 liters of fuel were recovered, which have been sealed at the disposal of the Judicial Authority.