[mob] [Fwd: Frying squad foils cooking oil car scam]

[Robbie Honerkamp <robbie@shorty.com>]

-----Forwarded Message-----

> From: R. A. Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
> To: Digital Bearer Settlement List <dbs@philodox.com>
> Subject: Frying squad foils cooking oil car scam
> Date: 04 Dec 2002 12:04:50 -0500
> 
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4519031,00.html
> 
>  Frying squad foils cooking oil car scam
> 
> Martin Wainwright
> Wednesday October 9, 2002
> The Guardian
> 
> A special police unit nicknamed the "frying squad" has been formed in a
> market town where hundreds of drivers are believed to be running their
> diesel cars on cooking oil.
> 
> Sniffing out unusually fragrant exhaust fumes, highway patrols have already
> collared several dozen offenders, who save more than 40p a litre by
> diverting oil from the kitchen cupboard to under the bonnet.
> 
> The Asda supermarket in Llanelli, south Wales, has slapped a ration on
> cooking oil sales, after astonished internal auditors found that it was
> selling far more than any other outlet in the country. Customs
> investigators are also involved in the "sniff patrols", which home in on
> any car smelling like a mobile fish and chip shop.
> 
> "It's a serious offence," said Bill O'Leary, spokesman for customs and
> excise, which levies tax on motor oil but not on the version used in
> saucepans. "By law, all cars on public roads must pay a tax on the fuel
> they use. Evasion carries a maximum seven-year jail term."
> 
> According to one victim of the crackdown, who did not want to be named,
> substituting 32p-a-litre cooking oil, with a dash of methanol, worked as
> sweetly in his diesel Subaru as the real, 73p-a-litre thing.
> 
> But the tell-tale odour proved his undoing when an unmarked police car
> flagged him down. "The officer went to the fuel tank, dipped it, and found
> cooking oil. I put my hands up to the offence but the car was towed away,"
> he said. His oil savings vanished in a £500 fine for using illegal, untaxed
> fuel and £150 required as a towing fee.
> 
> Dyfed Powys police said they were working with customs on a stop-and-check
> basis because of the problem in Llanelli. While Asda limited cooking oil
> sales per customer, an AA spokeswoman said fry-driving "could severely
> damage your vehicle. You should always follow the manufacturer's
> instructions about which fuel to use".
> 
> -- 
> -----------------
> R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
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>