By subtraction directly from the deposit or extraction by drilling with additional damage to vehicles.
In some areas it rose, in other areas it fell. Overall, there was a slight drop in the number of fuel theft in Portugal, last year.
The numbers of the Republican National Guard (GNR) show that, in 2025, there was 1.700 crimes of this genre – 44 less than the previous year.
A climb most evident was in the Guard (+80%), followed by increases in Bragança (+50%), Castelo Branco (+33.33%), Viana do Castelo (+30.88%), Santarém (+14.85%) and Leiria (+14.19%).
On the other hand, the biggest descents were in the districts: Lisboa (-26.32%), Aveiro (-21.49%), Faro (-20.45%) and Setúbal (-15.69%).
There were 1,084 thefts at gas stations last year; and 326 cases of car/motorcycle theft, in addition to 290 crimes in warehouses or agricultural/industrial machinery.
Major João Gaspar explains that fuel theft is done through “subtraction directly from the tank or through extraction through drilling with additional damage to vehicles”.
The majority of fuel thefts (40%) occur from late, namely between 1pm and 6pm. It may surprise you, but it is dawn which registers the smallest number of fuel theft, with just 9% of total crimes.
In a context of , this crime is likely to increase. Therefore, the GNR has already left a warning about this possibility.
