SILVER SPRING, Md. — Restaurants around the "DMV" - the greater D.C. area - have had thousands of pounds of used cooking oil stolen recently - valued at upwards of $47,000.
Two men were arrested Tuesday after police say they were siphoning the oil out of grease dumpsters in Silver Spring.
Restaurants sell used cooking oil to companies that make biodiesel fuel and other products, said Montgomery County police in a press release about the thefts.
A victim told police that the oil is sold for upwards of $2.38 per pound, and they've had about 20,000 pounds of oil stolen from restaurants around the region lately - which adds up to a value of roughly $47,600.
The two latest suspects - Michael Cordones-Lopez, 24, and Patricio Cardones-Molina, 61 - were seen pulling up in an alley behind several restaurants in downtown Silver Spring at about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 17.
They were wearing masks, and used a prybar to break open a locked grease dumpster, and siphon it out with a generator-powered siphon into large tanks inside their Ford E-350 van, said police.
Police arrested them and found the stolen oil and associated equipment in the van. They were charged with fourth-degree burglary and three counts of theft under $100, and have since been released on bond.
In 2022, a Montgomery County man was arrested after being seen siphoning grease in St. Mary's County.
