THE LOOKOUT | Diesel thief at the Almeirim Chamber shipyard awaits decision

The man who in April 2022 was preparing to steal diesel from the Almeirim Chamber shipyard has already been tried in the city court and is awaiting the judge’s decision, which was postponed due to the strike by judicial employees. The suspect, aged 50 at the time, was caught by soldiers at the city gas station when he was removing fuel from the tanks of vehicles parked on the premises in the industrial area.
Accused and tried for a qualified theft in the attempted form, the suspect, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, went to the shipyard on April 29th and broke down the fence to enter the space. With a hose he began to remove diesel from the tanks and by the time he was surprised by the guards he had five jerrycans and had already removed around 140 liters of fuel, worth 282.80 euros at the time. When he was detected by the Guard, the man tried to flee, but was intercepted a few meters later.
This robbery happened after a period in which there were no records of robberies at the municipal construction site. Previously, in 2020, on the third day of the year, thieves entered the premises and took a television from the employee dining room. At the time, the robbers entered through a window overlooking the street and left. The robbery was detected in the morning when employees arrived at work.
In 2014 and 2013 there had already been fuel thefts at the shipyard. In March 2014, unknown people entered the premises, which had a guard at the time, and took fuel from several vehicles. 200 liters of diesel were stolen from one vehicle alone. In May 2013, the GNR of Almeirim caught a man in the act who was stealing diesel from vehicles. The detainee was a former inmate who came to work for the chamber years before through a protocol that the municipality had with the Alcoentre Prison. The Guard patrol caught the individual already with 300 liters of fuel in several containers.