A-Gas warning on cheap refrigerant
30th August 2018GERMANY: A-Gas has warned customers to beware of offers of cut-price refrigerant as these may be stolen or illegal imports.
Confirming a break-in at the Seevetal site of its German subsidiary Arthur Friedrichs Kaeltemittel on Monday night, A-Gas managing director – Europe John Ormerod said: “The fact of the matter is that rising prices of refrigerants have made them attractive to criminals, R134a in particular given that it is widely used by the automotive sector.”
He also confirmed that around 800 cylinders had been stolen, rather than the 1,000 quoted by Dutch police following the seizure on Tuesday of 132 12.5kg cylinders near Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
“Thanks to the vigilance of the Dutch police a significant quantity of cylinders were recovered when they intercepted an overloaded vehicle shortly after the incident. This appears to be a targeted operation and bears similarities to an incident a few weeks back at another German refrigerant supplier,” Ormerod added.
“We would urge users of refrigerant to be on the lookout for refrigerants being offered at “too good to be true” prices as these may have been obtained through illegal means like theft or illegal imports.”
Related stories:
Supplier hit by 1,000 cylinder heist – 29 August 2018
GERMANY: Thieves are reported to have stolen around 1,000 cylinders of R134a, worth around €600,000, from German refrigerant supplier Arthur Friedrichs on Monday night. Read more…
German thieves target R134a – 15 August 2018
GERMANY: Rising costs and market shortages have led to increasing reports of thefts of refrigerant from commercial premises across Germany. Read more…
