Peel Regional Police (PRP) say two men are facing charges after officers interrupted separate fuel‑card fraud operations at Mississauga gas stations this month.
The first incident unfolded on April 1 around 4:30 p.m., when officers were called to a fuel station near Dixie Road and Britannia Road East for an alleged fraud in progress. Staff reported a man allegedly handing out fraudulent fuel cards to truck drivers. Investigators say a dump‑truck driver used one of the cards to pump more than $330 worth of diesel before returning it to the suspect.
Police arrested 27‑year‑old Praven Wijayanantham of Toronto, seizing several fuel cards, multiple cellphones, a laptop and a card‑scanning device. Investigators allege he obtained legitimate payment information from trucking companies, cloned their fleet cards and then sold discounted fuel directly to independent drivers — while the charges were billed back to the victim companies.
A week later, on April 9, officers responded to another alleged fraud-in-progress call at around 4:20 p.m. at a station near Atlantic Drive and Britannia Road East. Police say a suspect was caught using fraudulent cards to fuel four trucks, racking up more than $2,233 in diesel.
Responding officers arrested 28‑year‑old Thanisan Thanabalasingam of Brampton, seizing two fuel cards that are allegedly fraudulent, an unauthorized credit card and two cellphones.
Both men face multiple fraud‑related charges, and police say the investigations remain active. Trucking companies and drivers, in particular, are being asked to be cautious, with warnings that offers of heavily discounted fuel or unusual payment arrangements may signal criminal activity.