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Gang Tapped Into Pipeline to
Steal Gasoline
The high cost of gasoline has
led an ingenious group of
thieves to steal gasoline from
the gasoline pipeline that feeds
the RECOPE reservoir tanks in
San José from the refinery in
Limón.
Police investigators spend
several hardous days following a
group of thieves that was made
of up five Colombians, two
Nicaraguans and a Costa Rican
who decided to "milk" the
pipeline used by the Refinadora
Costarricense de Petróleo (Recope)
to transfer gasoline products to
the tanks in Alajuela and other
points from the refinery.
Yesterday morning, officers of
the Fuerza Pública, led by
commander Eduardo Guzmán, broke
up he gang who were trafficking
in combustibles. Members of the
DIS (Dirección de Inteligencia y
Seguridad) were also involved in
the operation since protection
of the pipeline is of national
interest.
Police say that the gang tapped
into the pipeline at several
points in Moravia and in Santo
Domingo de Heredia, using
special equipment filling tanks
installed in several vans for
transport and resale, with the
help of a guard employed by
Recope, who was paid to look the
other way.
Police say the group, working in
the cover of night, would take
at least 3.000 litres of
gasoline each night and
were highly specialized, using
special equipment to tap into
the pipeline and avoid
detection. They would install
their equipment to the pipeline
without damaging it and take up
to 1.000 litres of gasoline
products at a time.
The operation has been going on
for the last 15 nights according
to police, who estimate at the
current price of gasoline the
haul to be valued at ¢25 million
colones (us$52.000 dollars).
This is the second report of
gasoline being stolen from the
Recope pipelines in two months.
In May, three women - a
Colombian, a Costa Rican and a
Nicaraguan - were caught
stealing gasoline from the
pipeline at El Alto Molina in la
Unión de Cartago.
Following that robbery, Recope
heightened their security of the
pipeline, including controls
that detect a change of flow in
the line between the refinery in
Ochomogo (Limón) and La Garita
de Alajuela.
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