Greene County deputies think they've caught two fuel thieves red handed. They say two Springfield men are responsible for a rash of red dyed diesel fuel thefts.

The fuel is dyed red because it can only be used in farm and construction vehicles or other off road vehicles. The dyed fuel is about $0.41 a gallon cheaper because there's no road tax added to the price. Officers say two thieves stole and sold the red gas to truckers who are spending thousands to fill up.

Former semi-truck driver John Eaton says, "It's totally ridiculous it’s driving us out of business." The cost of diesel fuel drove John Eaton out of the trucking business after 21 years on the road. Eaton says, "I've shut down routes." Filling up a semi-truck can cost more than one thousand bucks. When a pickup truck rolled into Greene County with more than 1,800 gallons of cheap gas, many truckers couldn't refuse. Greene County Sheriff Department Captain Randy Gibson says, "Anyone with common sense knows that if you are buying gas for $2.00 a gallon with red dye in it, it has to be stolen. An officer spotted the truck driving erratically and pulled it over. Captain Gibson says, "It was easy for him to tell the truck was not a diesel truck." Easy to tell it was the illegal operation they'd been looking for. Gibson says, "There's been a rash of fuel thefts in Greene County around construction sites. We were looking for a truck like this."
Officers say the thieves may not have been inconspicuous but they did pull of the stunt pretty fast. The used a battery operated pump that could fill up 13 gallons of gas in one minute. The two men driving the truck are in jail awaiting charges. One of the truck drivers they sold to could be next.

Eaton says, "It's against the law but I don't really blame them." By law, anyone who uses the red dyed off road diesel fuel could face fines, impoundment or losing your load. Eaton says, "Experienced drivers know that even a month later they could still find a trace of the red dyed fuel in your tank."

Officers say it's rare they catch a thief red handed. Captain Gibson says, "Many go unnoticed because it tends to happen in remote areas. It's very difficult to catch them."

Both truckers and officers worry if prices keep rising, thieves will get even more inventive. Gibson says, "I think this is just the tip of the iceberg of fuel thefts."

Officers may charge every truck driver who bought the stolen fuel. Because the sheriff's department has so many fuel theft reports, they have to find out who these suspects victimized. They want farmers and construction workers to use locked gas caps and keep vehicles full of fuel locked up.