Mr Gleeson believes the drives are being carried out by organized criminals, with tactics such as fake number plates, masking tape and shaving foam used to avoid detection.

“Now people come who have fake plates. This is a common occurrence so it is impossible for the Gardaí to chase down those responsible. Some people covered their plate with shaving cream. Your staff should notice this when releasing the pump. , but that can be hard when things are really busy.”

Christmas, he said, marks “peak season for hiking.”

“People are coming back from England and the north in very large jeeps. They fill the vehicle with €130 worth of fuel without any attempt to hide their faces. Many are not local or simply don’t care.

In some cases, the vehicles they drive are rented. I saw plates for a tractor on a jeep. There are so many fake license plates out there that I’m convinced someone has to supply them online. They clearly have very easy access to them.

Mr Gleeson said some were habitual criminals and he wanted to see a greater crackdown on fuel theft.

“They get fined and fined, which is no punishment at all because they never pay it.”

He pointed to Australia, which has a “payback” system where courts automatically deduct the price of a fine from welfare payments.

“This has been tested in Australia and we know it has had a dramatic impact. There has been a significant reduction in cases in Australia. I’ve seen the evidence in other countries, so I don’t see why it shouldn’t work here.”

Intimidation of staff also happens frequently.

“We’ve had people come in for hot chicken buns after stealing fuel. On those occasions I kicked them out. That’s all I can do. However, that doesn’t stop them from trying to intimidate you.”

While some retailers have installed pre-paid fuel pumps, this is not an option Mr Gleeson is keen to explore.

“It’s very hard if you go down that road. Not everyone has a card or is confident in using one. We like to keep the human touch. It’s also better for the store if people come in because they generally tend to buy something else.”

A spokesman for the Irish Petroleum Merchants Association said fuel theft is a major problem across the country and one that has increased over the past 2.5 years with the rise in oil prices.

They also said: “There are many variations of fuel theft. There’s a criminal cohort that just happens to be lucky and those that really forget to pay. A non-respective survey of IPRA members would suggest that the average loss per station is around €2,500. per year Nobody wins with fuel theft, which ends up costing consumers more because station owners have to somehow recoup their losses Ora Garda.”

The spokesman added: “What we at IPRA believe is that third party access to the driver database is really needed to track and deter perpetrators. We would like to explore the option of IPRA (or another third party) being empowered to reduce crime. working at petrol stations and co-ordinating civil actions in respect of non-payment of transactions by drivers It would reduce the demand on the Gardaí to pursue payments and allow them to allocate valuable resources and time to other more urgent activities. problems.”