A truckie lost an entire day of work after his fuel tank was drilled into, and diesel was siphoned out, exposing a worrying new method of theft.
Drivers are reporting ongoing thefts using drills after diesel prices soared above $3 a litre in New Zealand.
Australian police from the Rural Crime Prevention Team in NSW confirmed with Yahoo News they haven’t seen anything similar. But there have been claims that petrol is being siphoned from trucks using a less destructive method.
Pictures of the damage to a New Zealand rig were shared online by Deb, a resident of the central North Island town of Taupo, after her husband was reportedly targeted last weekend.
“They drilled into both tanks and stole a good 900 litres,” she told Yahoo News.
“They’re doing it everywhere, and there are angry truckies everywhere.”
Frustratingly, Deb explained that some thieves aren’t even taking all the fuel.
“The thing that gets me is not only is the damage very costly, someone will drill a hole, take 40 litres and leave the rest to drain out onto the ground,” she said.
New Zealand police told Yahoo News there was a period when diesel theft and burglary were increasing.
“However, that’ is no longer a trend we are seeing,” a spokesperson said.
Deb claims many drivers are no longer reporting the problem, particularly when there is no CCTV, and are instead fixing the rigs themselves.
Significant change in petrol theft across NSW
In NSW, one of the most obvious forms of fuel theft is people failing to pay after filling up at a service station.
Data provided to Yahoo News by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research (BOCSAR) indicates an increase in these types of thefts over the past decade (up 3.8 per cent per year).
During April 2016 to March 2017, the theft count was just 9,324 across NSW, and by April 2023 — March 2024, it had increased to 14,085.
But over the last two years, the number of drive-off incidents has declined (down 12 per cent), with similar patterns observed in regional NSW and Greater Sydney.
During April 2025 to March 2026, NSW police recorded 13,095 incidents statewide, compared to 14,889 over April 2024 to March 2024.
Fuel prices have increased around the world since the US entered into conflict with Iran in February, preventing fuel from leaving the region through the Strait of Hormuz.
The average price for petrol this week is just under $2 a litre in Australia, and diesel is around $2.40 a litre, according to the NRMA.
Figures on whether the conflict has affected fuel theft rates are not yet available.
