Colorado Springs Police uncover gas siphoning plot

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs police have unveiled new details about a complex and prolific gas siphoning scheme. According to police, they recovered over $3,000 worth of gasoline in two separate raids with the help of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, SWAT Teams, and Homeland Security.

Police are now warning residents to keep an eye out for any parked trucks that look out of place, especially if they are parked over small metal covers where stations receive their gas deliveries.

According to authorities, a raid happened at the home of the alleged gas thieves on May 21st. Richard Delgado, a neighbor of those alleged thieves, says he witnessed a lot of the operation.

 "A lot of big trucks,  a lot of big trucks with like a siphon machine in the back of the truck," Delgado said. "Didn't know what I thought it was for. I thought they had some kind of business."  

Delgado said the neighborhood is usually pretty quiet, that is, until multiple agencies showed up on his street, one of two raids carried out by police.

"They took everybody out and they investigated everything ... They searched every vehicle.  They went through everything, and took everything out," Delgado said. "So it hurts as a neighbor because, you know, you may go, okay, what were they into?"

What they were into, according to investigators, was fuel theft. According to authorities, the alleged thieves would use a specialized truck that would siphon gas directly out of the covers to the underground tanks. The truck was also equipped with a drop-down shade to hide what was going on underneath.

The alleged thieves were then turning around and selling the stolen fuel at a discounted price to "members of the community."

CSPD declined an on-camera interview tonight, saying they're still at a critical stage in their investigation. No one has been arrested for the alleged thefts.