The owner of a haulage firm has expressed fury after authorities secured only one conviction in a fuel card scam that cost his company more than £5,000 across seven filling stations over two days.
Details of the fraud
Libco Logistics, based in Caerphilly county, lost £5,235 after fraudulent transactions were made using its fuel cards at seven petrol stations in south Wales on April 14 and 16, 2024. The company had 45 vans delivering housing goods around Wales, each with a registered fuel card for diesel purchases.
Prosecutor Jemma Guy told Newport Magistrates' Court that Libco was alerted by Snap Fuel, the card provider, about potential fraudulent activity. The company quickly identified that several recent payments were not for refuelling its vans. “The value of some of the transactions was much greater than would be expected,” said Ms Guy. “Refuelling should cost no more than £100 but some of these cost more than £300.”
The only conviction
The sole person brought to justice was Darren Watts, 54, of Church Road in Gelligaer. On April 14, 2024, he used one of the stolen fuel cards at the A470 Texaco station in Abercynon to buy £300 worth of diesel. CCTV showed Watts on the forecourt wearing a hood and a scarf covering his face. He pulled the pump hose behind his car boot, which was up and blocking the camera's view, and pumped diesel into a container. In the following days, he advertised the fuel for sale online.
Watts was caught after his Ford Cougar's registration number was captured on CCTV. He pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was fined £240, ordered to pay £300 compensation to Libco, plus £85 prosecution costs and a £96 victim services surcharge.
Owner's frustration
Libco owner Steven Walters criticised Gwent Police for failing to pursue other suspects. “I had 50-odd drivers working for me and one of them got their hands on a bunch of fuel cards, which were then passed on to people who stole thousands of pounds of fuel over two days,” he told WalesOnline. “Darren Watts was the tip of the iceberg. He's just somebody who was handed one of these cards. I didn't even know who he was.”
Mr Walters accused police of acting too slowly to gather evidence against others, including an employee he suspected of handing out the cards. The employee later quit after Mr Walters confronted him.
Police response
Gwent Police said they obtained CCTV from four of the seven stations but faced difficulties getting footage from the other three “despite requests to supply it for the investigation”. They declined to say why warrants were not served. The force stated that the Crown Prosecution Service decided there was only strong enough evidence to charge Watts for the Abercynon incident.
District Judge Sophie Toms questioned why the case took two years to reach court, but the prosecutor could not explain the delay. Watts, who has health problems including a stroke and throat cancer, receives £1,050 per month in benefits. His solicitor Richard Williams said: “He accepts the stupidity of his actions. He has had previous convictions but nothing in the past 25 years.”
Aftermath
Libco is now being liquidated, but Mr Walters said this was due to losing a key client, not the fraud. “We did get past the fraud,” he added. The case highlights challenges in prosecuting multi-location frauds and securing timely evidence.
