Overview
- A witness followed a van after spotting large, unmarked containers being filled at a self-service station in Essen and kept police updated on its location.
- Officers signaled the Mercedes Sprinter to stop on the A40, the driver sped off and drove into oncoming lanes in Bochum before police halted the vehicle.
- Police detained a 20-year-old Albanian with no fixed address in Germany and recovered more than 3,000 liters of diesel.
- The van held three 1,000-liter IBC tanks, which are large plastic fuel containers, and officers pumped out the poorly secured fuel and seized the vehicle with forged Romanian plates.
- Investigators are checking reports that roughly 10,000 liters were taken overnight, pursuing leads on a second Sprinter as a possible accomplice, and asking witnesses to contact Essen police.