Auger works for the Department of Transportation as the regional superintendent for the North Slave Region. In the past few weeks his work place has been target of an attempted theft and the break-in of a company vehicle.

An attempted theft of gasoline Jan. 31 resulted in a potentially deadly spill of 4,000 litres of fuel, just two weeks after someone stole one of the company vehicles. The vehicle was later recovered in Yellowknife, Auger said.

Both incidents occurred at the same location -- the Department of Transportation yard on Highway 3, across from the community of Edzo.

"I hope this is not a new trend here," Auger told News/North last week, "that we're not becoming an easy target."

There was no serious environmental harm caused by the spill, Auger said.

The gasoline is held in concrete berms that prevented the fuel from leaking all over the ground when someone tampered with the valves, Auger said.

"The failure we experienced was man-made," Auger said.

The fuel containers are locked to make sure nobody plays with the valves. Kids can't get in. But people who know what they want can.

"You have to go there with tools," Auger said. "You have to cut the lock. You have to come with the appropriate cutters. You cannot just get in there with bare hands."

With the cleanup complete, police can continue their investigation. So far, they have not connected the two incidents, said Sgt. John Milner of the Rae RCMP detachment.