Thursday, November 26, 2009

The Fat of The Land

Ever heard of the expression "living off the fat of the land"? Well, apparently, something got lost in the translation in South America - with gruesome results.

The BBC reports that

"Four people have been arrested in Peru on suspicion of killing dozens of people in order to sell their fat and tissues for cosmetic uses in Europe.


"The horror! The horror!"


The gang allegedly targeted people on remote roads, luring them with fake job offers before killing them and extracting their fat.

The liquidised product fetched $15,000.00 ((£9,000) a litre and police suspect it was sold on to companies in Europe.

At least five other suspects, including two Italian nationals, remain at large. Police said the gang could be behind the disappearances of up to 60 people in Peru's Huanuco and Pasco regions. One of those arrested told police the ringleader had been killing people for their fat for more than three decades.

The gang has been referred to as the Pishtacos, after an ancient Peruvian legend of killers who attack people on lonely roads and murder them for their fat. "

This is some Turistas-meets-Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs-by way of-Soylent Green shit.

And $15,000.00 per liter - sorry, litre - of human fat. Talk about being worth your weight in gold. No wonder there's a corresponding gang in Italy who is reported to have sold the Peruvian fat to the European cosmetics industry, "to be used as an anti-wrinkle treatment."

So...how's that face cream of yours? Working wonders?

15 comments:

  1. pwede naman nilang hingin... ill be more willing to sell mine. hahaha!

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  2. i'll give them my fats for free. =D

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  3. Oh my... Anyone? Need ko ng gym buddy. Haha!

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  4. OMG.... what is wrong with the universe....?

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  5. the price we pay for beauty. ugh.

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  6. they should prolly buy the stuff from bleo and calayan hahahaha

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  7. @ thecurioscat : Why, chabelito ka ba?

    @ wanderingcommuter : I guess the fat poachers are in it for the thrill of the hunt, too, and not just profit.

    @ engel : It's a seller's market. Sell, sell!

    @ JayPee : thecurioscat might need a gymbud.

    @ Yj : The universe is a mighty odd place indeed.

    @ john stanley : But who pays the higher price?

    @ Ternie : Who's to say that they don't engage in that sideline, too? Waste not, want not.

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  8. yeah, i guess it's not for fat alone but the sheer thrill and excitement of killing. *chills*

    reminds me of Hostel - because of this film, ayaw ko na pumunta Romania. *chills*

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  9. whoah... that is too gruesome huh...

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  10. that's awful! note to self: lose weight BEFORE trip to europe.

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  11. @ Mr. Scheez : Yeah, makes you think about those supposed "urban legends" of organ harvesters, eh?

    @ tim : Good thing I didn't include the descriptions of how they actually extracted the fat from the victims. That was downright ghoulish.

    @ citybuoy : Western Europe is fine, save for the gypsies and roving thugs in London. It's Eastern Europe that's kinda dicey.

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  12. european product ba ang olay? i hope not!

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  13. @ Aris: Olay originated in South Africa as Oil of Olay. As the company began to market the product internationally, it was decided to modify the name of the product in each country so it would sound pleasing and realistic to consumers. This led to the introduction of Oil of Ulay (UK and Ireland), Oil of Ulan (Australia) and Oil of Olaz (France, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany).

    In 1999, it was decided to unify the brand under a global name. Thus, Oil of Ulan and Ulay became Olay on a worldwide basis, except in German-speaking regions and Italy, where it remained Oil of Olaz. In the Netherlands and Belgium, it was renamed just Olaz.

    - from Wiki

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