One truck, an excavator and a tractor were all ‘‘completely drained of fuel’’ near the Oamaru Lawn cemetery in Roxby St, Green By Nature operations manager David Welton said.
Police said they were monitoring the situation closely, as fuel thefts were reported amid high prices caused by the United States-Iran conflict.
Mr Welton said he was ‘‘quite shocked’’ and suspected the fuel was siphoned out as the equipment was locked and none of the locks was damaged.
The theft over Easter weekend put financial strain on the company and caused a ‘‘slight delay’’ to work being carried out at the cemetery, he said.
The company would take extra precautions to ensure such a theft did not happen again, he added.
‘‘All our equipment is now stored at our depot which slightly increases operating time and causes the depot to be crowded,’’ Mr Welton said.
‘‘No items are to be left on site, at any site, moving forward.’’
Police Southern district commander Superintendent Jason Guthrie said police were monitoring the situation in the region.
‘‘While we are not yet seeing a significant increase in reported fuel theft in Southern district, we are conscious of the current global conditions that have impacted fuel prices and we are closely monitoring the situation,’’ he said.
‘‘We know that this type of crime can be seasonal and can also occur in spates.’’
The public were encouraged to remain alert and to report any fuel thefts.
‘‘We ask the community to please contact police to report any and all fuel theft as soon as possible. Particularly if the offence is in progress, do not hesitate to call 111,’’ Supt Guthrie said.
‘‘The sooner police receive reports, the sooner we can identify if there is a change in offending patterns and if we need to adjust our response.’’
Late last month, thieves stole 1000 litres of diesel from Kings Log Transport’s truck yard in Invercargill.
At the time, Federated Farmers warned fuel theft would become more common in rural areas.
On the West Coast yesterday, police arrested a man they alleged was behind a series of fuel thefts from diggers used to strengthen Westport’s new flood walls.
