Owner Pays $7K Fine To Get Seized Truck Back In Naugatuck

NAUGATUCK, CT — Quin Zen Chen, who is the owner of R & L Oil Recycling in New Britain, paid a $7,000 state fine in order to get his seized truck back after it was used by two others to dump cooking oil illegally in Naugatuck, the Republican-American reports.

Two New York men were arrested in August for the illegal dumping incident that occurred near Thurnston Pond reservoir, the Rep-Am reports. The $7,000 fine will be used to help Naugatuck combat blight and illegal dumping, officials told the Rep-Am.

>>>Read More at the Rep-Am.

In August, police officials publicly released the following details concerning the case:

Two people have been arrested for dumping oil into the wetlands behind 444 Rubber Avenue, Naugatuck Police say. Police say the two people stole the cooking oil from a nearby business and dumped the oil into wetlands.

Chang Zou, 30, and Yu Xiang Zheng, 24, voluntarily surrendered at Naugatuck Police Headquarters. The warrants stemmed from an incident on August 16 in which the accused were seen by a "concerned citizen discharging oil into the wetlands behind the area of 444 Rubber Avenue from a commercial vehicle," police said.

Police and CT DEEP officials say Zou and Zheng were dumping cooking oil into the area. The cooking oil was stolen from another nearby business, police said. The investigation determined that the environmental impact was minimal after remediation efforts made, police said.

Naugatuck Police Officer Rebecca St. George led the investigation. Both Zou and Zheng are charged with knowingly violating the water pollution control act, littering, sixth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit sixth-degree larceny. Police also seized a vehicle which was used during the crimes.

"The Naugatuck Police Department continues to make pollution, littering, and illegal dumping a priority in our enforcement efforts. The message from this investigation to the public should be clear; pollution in our community has consequences. It is only working together with the public that we can hope to tackle this issue," Naugatuck Police said in a news release.