A Sydney family-owned trucking company is losing up to $10,000 a month to diesel thieves as a growing wave of fuel crime targets drivers across Australia even while they sleep in their cabs.

Truck drivers across Australia are being increasingly targeted by a brazen surge in diesel theft, with criminals siphoning fuel from vehicles parked on roadsides, at depots and while drivers are inside their trucks.

For Sydney-based Hannah’s Haulage, the impact has been swift.

Owner Scott Hannah told Sunrise the business has lost between $9,000 and $10,000 worth of fuel in just the past month alone.

“It doesn’t matter where we park,” Hannah said.

“We try and park in certain areas where it’s a bit more light, but when the drivers are just parked to the side of the road, trucks park next to them, and there’s always plenty of area for people just to walk down in between the trucks.”

The thefts are becoming increasingly sophisticated with organised criminals using electric pumps and large tanks mounted in vans or utes to drain fuel quickly and quietly.

“If a truck’s left unattended, a driver might have parked and gone home or gone for a shower or whatever, they can suck it out pretty quick,” Hannah explained.

Even with cameras installed, identifying offenders has proven difficult.

Scott Hannah, owner of Hannah Haulage, has told Sunrise his trucking company is losing up to $10,000 a month to diesel thefts.Scott Hannah, owner of Hannah Haulage, has told Sunrise his trucking company is losing up to $10,000 a month to diesel thefts. Credit: Sunrise

Hannah said footage often showed little more than people in hoodies, making it nearly impossible to track those responsible.

Beyond fuel, thieves are also targeting number plates and goods stored on trucks, with Hannah suspecting stolen plates are being reused to steal fuel from service stations.

He said four licence plates have been taken in the past month alone.

With trucks typically holding between 1,000 and 1,500 litres of diesel, smaller thefts can go unnoticed.

Drivers often only realise they’ve been targeted when larger volumes are taken, spotting missing fuel caps or spillage on the ground.

Despite installing lockable fuel tanks, Hannah said thieves were finding ways around security measures while police are limited in what they can do without clear identifying details like number plates.

Hannah’s Haulage runs around 40 trucks and faces fuel bills of about $700,000 a month, with soaring prices compounding the losses.

“Most of the smaller transport companies are family businesses, and they’re taking it straight out of our mouth,” Hannah said.