Thieves make off with hundreds of gallons of cooking oil from Athens Chick-fil-A

ATHENS, Ga. - The Athens-Clarke County Police want to find whoever stole hundreds of gallons of used cooking oil from a Chick-fil-A restaurant.

Investigators say it’s more common than you think.

"If it’s not yours, then don’t take it," Lt. Jody Thompson said.

It’s a lesson many of learned as kids, but not all have listened to.

Lt. Jody Thompson with the Athens-Clarke County Police say thieves broke into a Chick-fil-A and took off with a cooking necessity.

"They noticed that a lock had been cut off of the back gate, where the grease trap is located. From there they determined several hundreds of gallons of oil had been taken out of that," Thompson said

It happened at around three am on Oct. 5 at the popular restaurant on Atlanta Highway. Thompson said it’s not the first time the store has been targeted.

"It’s not uncommon to see this, but these guys rented a U-Haul this time and was able to syphon out several thousand dollars’ worth of oil," Thompson said.

You might be thinking, why used cooking oil? Why would anyone want that?

Thompson says the market value can be high.

"It can be refined and sold and it can be used as fuel. There are several different markets for the oil that recyclers can utilize," Thompson said.

As investigators work to get a better description of whoever’s responsible police say your help could solve the case.

"If you see something, say something. Large vehicles like U-Hauls shouldn’t be around restaurants in the early morning hours," Thompson said.

If you know anything that can help investigators in this case, come forward. You can remain anonymous.