Two men arrested in stolen oil case

Two men arrested in stolen oil case

Two Miami-Dade County men were arrested Tuesday after they were caught stealing hundreds of gallons of used cooking oil.

Reynier Rivero Gonzalez, 36, of Hialeah, Florida, and Yadriel Luis Zaragoza, 24, of Miami, Florida, were both charged with grand theft.

The Sheriff’s Office was notified at approximately 12:27 p.m. that two ununiformed men in an unmarked, white van had just siphoned used cooking oil from a holding tank at Herbie’s Bar & Chowder House.

The suspects were stopped shortly thereafter. They smelled of cooking oil. The inside of the van appeared to be covered in oil. There were two, 250-gallon containers containing cooking oil and a large pump inside the van.

The business owner stated he contracts a company to handle the collection and recycling of the used cooking oil from his kitchen and advised the company had not sent anyone. A large sticker on the oil tank stated: the oil is private property, the collection company uses uniformed drivers in marked vehicles, they do not use subcontractors to collect the product, and thieves will be prosecuted.

A representative from the oil company confirmed the suspects were not employed by them and wished to prosecute the theft of approximately 300 gallons of used cooking oil worth approximately $1,290. Both suspects were taken to jail.

Anyone who believes they may have been the victim of a similar theft should contact Sheriff’s Office Lt. Nancy Alvarez at 305-481-8060.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]