Perhaps believing they could get easy money, individuals attacked the coin mechanism at the Intermarché service station in Senlis (Oise), during the night from Friday to Saturday.
The device allows users to pay for their fuel in cash, which attracted four individuals aboard a Citroën Jumpy utility vehicle.
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The thugs put straps on the coin mechanism and tried to remove the device by pulling it with the utility vehicle.
A maneuver which completely failed: the coin mechanism did not move an inch while the thieves, who were perhaps disturbed during their nocturnal expedition, did not insist and preferred to flee on board from another vehicle, abandoning the Jumpy on the spot.
“Inside which they emptied the contents of a fire extinguisher,” specifies a gendarmerie investigator, probably to cover their tracks.
“Probably a team of nickel-plated feet”
The utility vehicle does not yet appear to be a stolen vehicle, but this possibility would explain why it was left behind.
The coin mechanism has not suffered any damage and is in perfect working order.
“It's probably a team of nickel-plated feet because experienced thieves would not have attacked a gas station coin mechanism, where the quantity of money is small and regularly recorded,” estimates a soldier from the gendarmerie.
The attempt therefore ended in a bitter failure, the criminals left empty-handed.
The investigation into this attempted theft is being carried out by the Senlis gendarmerie.