Thieves target used cooking oil from Chick-Fil-A in Athens

Thieves hit storage tanks at the Chick-Fil-A restaurant on Atlanta Highway recently and siphoned off 700 to 800 gallons of cooking oil stored away for recycling.

It’s not a common theft in Athens, according to Athens-Clarke police Lt. Jody Thompson, but he said it’s actually a very common crime nationwide.

“The impact is huge. They resell the oil,” Thompson said.

Food & Wine magazine reported that used cooking oil from restaurants is converted into biodiesel fuel. The restaurants sell their used oil to companies that take it to a refinery, while the thieves sell it on the black market.

A similar theft of used oil occurred last year at the Chick-Fil-A on Barnett Shoals Road, according to Thompson.

“There is a very small group of thieves who commit these crimes because it takes time. They need a large vehicle and it takes time to siphon the oil out,” he said, adding that thieves apparently target Chick-Fil-A because it uses a high quality cooking oil.

In the recent case, police have evidence that two men arrived at the restaurant about 3 a.m. Oct. 5 in a U-Haul truck, where they cut a lock and heavy-duty chain to gain access to the oil storage drums.

The restaurant reported this has happened on three prior occasions. The stolen oil, which would have been recycled, is valued at about $2,000, according to the report.

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This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Late night thieves steal used cooking oil from restaurant in Athens