Duo Accused of Stealing Oil Worth $200,000 From Russian Pipeline

MOSCOW, February 24 (RIA Novosti) – Two men in southern Russia stole 7.5 million rubles ($200,000) of oil by siphoning it out of a pipeline, prosecutors said Monday.

The duo is suspected of stealing 800 cubic meters of oil from the pipeline and loading it into a tank connected to a truck in March last year. They face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

The theft reportedly took place on several occasions from the Kuibyshev-Tikhoretsk pipeline in a rural part of the Krasnodar Region.

© RIA Novosti.

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Media reports said the duo was part of a larger gang, several members of which avoided prison time by agreeing to serve as informants.