Two Thieves Take Off With 300 Gallons Of Cooking Oil From Georgia Chick-fil-A

Two men are accused of stealing a significant quantity of used cooking oil from a Georgia Chick-fil-A, an unusual yet valuable target, according to an Athens-Clarke County police report.

At approximately 3 a.m. Oct. 5, a U-Haul box truck stopped near a dumpster adjacent to the Chick-fil-A restaurant on Atlanta Highway in Clarke County, Georgia. Two men allegedly exited the vehicle and extracted an estimated 200 to 300 gallons of used fryer oil from a container designed for recycling.

Police found a lock had been severed from the back gate, where the grease trap containing the oil is placed.

“They noticed that a lock had been cut off of the back gate, where the grease trap is located. From there they determined several hundreds of gallons of oil had been taken out of that,” Lt. Jody Thompson said to Fox 5 Atlanta.

This incident was not the first of its kind at this location. According to the restaurant’s manager, this is the fourth time the restaurant’s used cooking oil has been targeted. During the previous theft, a staggering 700 to 800 gallons of oil, valued at $2,000, were taken.

The motive behind such a peculiar crime lies in the substantial market value of used cooking oil. As Thompson explained, it can be refined, sold, or used as a fuel source. The versatile applications of this commodity offer several avenues for recycling companies to harness its potential.

A similar incident happened in April of this year where another Chick-fil-A restaurant had used cooking oil stolen repeatedly in Long Island, New York, per NBC News.

Investigator Patrick McCall, who works for cooking oil companies, told NBC News, “It has a lot of value what we call ‘liquid gold.”

The two thieves were not identified. Thompson urged anyone with information to come forward, but also to stay vigilant. “If you see something, say something. Large vehicles like U-Hauls shouldn’t be around restaurants in the early morning hours,” Thompson said.