http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,807299,00.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".