Thieves return five times in one night to steal 1000 litres of diesel

Thieves return five times in one night to steal 1000 litres of diesel


Anton McNulty

A GROUP of brazen thieves stole €800 worth of diesel from lorries parked in the Westport Industrial Park and returned five times during the night despite the presence of CCTV cameras.
The break-in took place at the Tile Warehouse unit of the Westport Industrial Park on the Newport Road in the early hours of Wednesday morning, September 30. The gang of four arrived at 12.30 after breaking their way through seven foot high security fencing and started to take diesel from the lorries in the yard.
After filling their containers the thieves left but returned five times during the night despite the presence of CCTV cameras and stole 1000 litres of diesel during the night. They also stole €120 from the lorry and a set of keys and a lens light from a car parked in the Industrial Park.
John Mulee of Tile Warehouse told The Mayo News that the heist  lasted from 12.30am until 4.30am and every time they came back they filled up six to eight cans at a time. He said the area was well lit by street lights and monitored by CCTV camera but he felt this does not seem to be a deterrent to thieves. He claimed thefts in the industrial estate have become a regular occurrence over the last number of months.
“They seem to be operating with complete impunity because this is a regular occurrence. These were a gang of four youths and they broke a seven foot high security fence by bending the steel back and forth until the bolts came off. They stole €800 worth of diesel but they also caused €400 worth of damage to the tanks. My lorries are damaged, my fence is down and my diesel taken.
“My unit is well lit up by the street lights and there are cameras but they came back and forward through the night. They must feel confident that they won’t be caught. In the last six months, an outboard motor has been stolen, a trailer has been stolen, diesel taken and lorries damaged. This has become a regular occurrence and the underlying thing is they seem to be getting away with it,” he said.
He explained that there are 20 different small companies in the Industrial Park employing up to 200 people and said this type of activities was affecting them. He said the action of the thieves in continuously returning during the night showed that garda patrols of the area needed to be stepped up.
Superintendent Mick Murray of Westport Garda Station told The Mayo News that if an increase of patrol is needed in the area he would have no problem detailing gardaí to the area. He said the investigation was at an early stage but added that the theft of diesel was a regular occurrence in Mayo. He called on anyone who may have seen anything suspicious on the night to contact Westport Gardaí at 098 50230.