Covington Police Seek Cooking Oil Thieves

COVINGTON, Ga. - Police in Covington said Friday that they've never seen a crime quite like it. Someone is stealing used cooking oil from restaurants there.

At first, police weren't sure why the thieves targeted the cooking oil. Investigators said they discovered that used cooking oil can be sold to recyclers for as much as $700 per container.

The fried chicken brings in the crowds at Thomas' Country Buffet in Covington. But it's the greasy byproduct our doctors don't like that's also attracting the crooks.

"Everyday we change the oil," said owner Jin Ha Yoon.

The oil is left in big containers in the back of the restaurant and is then picked up by an oil recycler.

Police said this week two men backed up a truck and siphoned away hundreds of gallons of grease at Thomas' Country Buffet and 10 other Covington businesses.

"It's worth a lot more than we anticipated. Someone's out there, needs it and can get a lot of money for it. That's why they're doing this," said Lt. Wendell Wagstaff of the Covington Police Department.

Thieves have targeted cooking for some time. The oil is valuable, and is bought and sold in places like the Chicago Board of Trade, which ultimately uses the oil in pet food and biodiesel.

A week before the Covington thefts, Conyers police arrested two men, Joshua Holmes and Reginald McRae, charging both with stealing used cooking oil from Dairy Queen.

Holmes and Reginald bonded out of jail three days before the Covington cooking oil thefts.

Authorities are now trying to find Holmes and Reginald and Covington investigators are now calling them persons of interest.

"In all my years experience in the police department, I've never had a situation where we had people stealing cooking oil," said Lt. Wagstaff.