MANCHESTER, N.H.- Police in Hampton have arrested three men for stealing used cooking oil from area restaurants, in order to resell it for biofuel.
According to police the investigation began back on August 6, when an employee of Las Olas Restaurant reported three men were seen using equipment to remove used cooking oil from a 50-gallon container behind the restaurant, which raised concerns as the restaurant already uses a private contractor to remove the oil from their property.
Police then began their investigation and obtained surveillance footage and identified the vehicle used in the theft and then began talking with Police in Shrewsbury Massachusetts following a report of a similar incident at the Imperial Buffet and were able to determine that the same truck was involved in both incidents.
Wednesday morning Hampton police were once again contacted by an employee of the Las Olas restaurant to report another suspicious truck in the area of the Wok Express Restaurant, driven by people who were siphoning cooking oil from the containers outside the business.
Police then responded to the area and ended up chasing the truck along Lafayette Road as it was headed south before stopping and taking the occupants into custody.
According to police Jose Rivera Deleon, 31, of Worcester, Massachusetts; Neyl Junior Garcia De Jesus, 23, of the Bronx, New York; and Luis A. Rijo Kelly, 27, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island were arrested and charged with a number of misdemeanors.
Following their arrest the three appeared before a judge Wednesday and are due back in court in November.
