THEFTS of cooking oil from restaurants in Moffat and Lockerbie are becoming more frequent, according to community police officers.
The thefts were mentioned in the police reports at the most recent meetings of both Moffat and Lockerbie and District Community Councils.
Two thefts were recorded within days of each other in October, when large quantities of cooking oil were removed from premises.
Commercial operators are forbidden from disposing of their used vegetable oil by pouring it down the drain. They must instead arrange for it to be taken away by a waste carrier.
This means that restaurants and takeaways will sometimes store their used oil in large tanks to the rear of their premises, which thieves are targeting in order to sell illegally. The used oil is then converted into unregulated biodiesel to then be sold on the black market.
Lockerbie PC Stephen Glendinning this week said: “This is an up and coming trend we’re seeing where used cooking oil which businesses can sell and get money back for it. Essentially what we’re seeing is people now stealing it from the back of premises and taking it away so they can sell it on.
“There was a theft of cooking oil on October 19 at the rear of Just Be Bistro in Lockerbie. Two males have been charged with the theft and been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.”
