Police are warning that a shortage of cooking oil caused by the war in Ukraine has sparked a series of thefts.
Global supply shortages have pushed many supermarkets to introduce restrictions on the purchase of cooking oils, with olive oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil now being rationed by stores including Tesco, Morrisons and Waitrose.
Even before the war in Ukraine, prices had been soaring as a result of factors including Covid-related staff shortages and poor harvests in South America. And with the price of fuel at the pumps rising to record highs, police have warned of a nationwide increase in the theft of cooking oil for resale or to create unregulated biodiesel that can be used as fuel for diesel engines as a direct replacement or to blend with regular diesel.
Among the businesses that have been targeted by thieves on a nationwide basis are takeaways and restaurants, with some criminals posing as legitimate collectors of used oil. Recent estimates suggest that up to a fifth of used cooking oil in the UK is stolen.
Police are urging shopkeepers to contact them if their premises have been targeted, and they have issued a list of steps to minimise the risk of theft. Among advice offered by Humberside Police is to store waste oil containers out of sight of the public and to lock storage areas, to cover these areas with CCTV, motion sensors and alarms, to use lockable storage units and to even consider forensic marking of containers.
"You may wish to consider this if you are the victim of a high number of thefts," said Humberside Police. It has officers who will visit premises to offer specialist advice. Spearheading its campaign is Crime Reduction Officer James Steel, who urges anyone who sees a theft taking place to call 999 immediately. Businesses in the East Riding of Yorkshire who would like crime prevention advice can email him at james.steel@humberside.police.uk, and in other areas should contact their local police station.
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
