How far will you go to warn off the signs of decay? Anti-wrinkle creams have been known to cost more per ounce than gold. Now however, the cost appears to be much greater. Your desire for smooth skin may well be costing lives, according to claims by Peruvian police!
It has been reported this morning that police in Peru have arrested a gang whose members are accused of killing ‘scores’ of people and draining their fat to be used 'abroad' - that means here probably - as anti-wrinkle cosmetics. Apparently, this fat is valued at £36,000 a gallon.
A black market trade in human fat seems fictional, as if the perpetrators have been influenced by a diet of Nip/Tuck and that cheesy classic sci-fi mini series V. Medical experts, who know a thing or two about these things, admit that there can be cosmetic benefits from the use of human fat to keep skin supple, but were understandably sceptical about the claim.
Indeed, while the full details of the gangs' motives have yet to emerge, what intrigues me most is the curious idea that we have to resort to murder for a substance that is surely so readily available. Is there really such a shortage of human fat in the modern world that a gallon is worth the price of a flashy car?
Come off it, if it be the case then there are tonnes of obese Americans quite literally sitting on a fortune. I’m actually trying to work out how much a gallon of fat is. Does it have to be refined? Is there a grading process? Does a diet of burgers, and saturated fat produce a better quality or is unsaturated the way to go? If so, is anyone in the mood for farming some rugby players?
Adam Katz, a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Virginia medical school, seems as confused as I am about the truth of this Peruvian story. He told the Associated Press: "It doesn't make any sense at all because in most countries we can get fat so readily and in such amounts from people who are willing and ready to donate." And let's face it, an American plastic surgeon should know.
Surely the cosmetic industry, would not be involved in a black market trade with gangsters from Peru. The whole thing seems a little farfetched. If they really needed human fat for their products, they would have an endless supply from obese rich celebrities and their liposuction visits to plastic surgery. It would certainly be a very modern and ingenious form of recycling, although I’m not quite sure how they’d sell the idea to the famous, who probably wouldn’t want their neighbours fat on their face, although they could always take their own home with them in a jar. All very liberal and green!
Levity aside, there could well be a lot more to this case. It's alleged that as many as sixty bodies have been recovered so far, their bodies discovered in distressing ways and grisly details have been supplied by one of the members. Apparently disembowelled torsos would be hung from hooks above candles while tubs gathered the dripping fat below - and we thought lying on a surgeon's table with a tube sucking from your midrift was gruesome!
Marty McMahon is a finalist in stv.tv's The Write Factor competition. The views expressed are not necessarily those of STV plc. If you would like to read more from this writer, use our comment system below.
Last updated: 20 November 2009, 18:21
The links provided allow you to bookmark this page into your favourite social media website. For users with JavaScript disabled copy and paste the URL from the address bar into your chosen social bookmarking site.