Two Miami-Dade men were arrested for allegedly stealing hundreds of gallons of used cooking oil in the Florida Keys.
Reynier Rivero Gonzalez, 36, of Hialeah, and Yadriel Luis Zaragoza, 24, of Miami, were arrested Tuesday on grand theft charges, Monroe County Sheriff's Office officials said.
The pair was caught after they allegedly siphoned used cooking oil from a holding tank at Herbie’s Bar & Chowder House in Marathon.
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They had showed up at the restaurant in an unmarked white van and not in uniforms, the sheriff's office said.
When the two were stopped, the smelled of cooking oil and the inside of the van appeared to be covered in oil, officials said.
Deputies searched the van and found two 250-gallon containers holding the cooking oil along with a large pump, authorities said.
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In all, the pair stole around 300 gallons of used cooking oil worth about $1,290, the sheriff's office said.
The restaurants's owner said he contracts a company to handle the collection and recycling of the used cooking oil from his kitchen but said the company had not sent anyone.
Both suspects were arrested and booked into jail. Attorney information wasn't available.
