Arrest made for theft of 24 tons of kashar cheese

On November 1, 2024By Karl

LONDON – British police have arrested a man involved in a brazen robbery not quite on the scale of an epic bank heist, but the theft involved 24 tonnes of loot, smoother and waxier, relatively firm but also buttery, with a tangy taste.

He was detained in connection with the theft of kashar cheese.

The arrest follows an incident that stunned the British artisan cheese-making world in late October when rare cheddar worth nearly $390,000 was stolen from Neal’s Yard Dairy, London’s leading specialist cheese retailer.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed in a statement late on Thursday that the man arrested, whose identity was not disclosed but said to be 63, was detained on suspicion of fraud by false pretenses and handling of stolen goods in connection with the case. A police spokesman said the man was released on bail pending further investigation.

No other details about the investigation or other potential suspects have been released.

“Grated cheese robbery” case British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver It started in July, when a buyer posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer ordered 950 “trucks” of Hafod Welsh organic cheddar, Westcombe cheddar and Pitchfork cheddar cheese from Neal’s Yard. Truckle is a cylindrical wheel of cheese. They vary in size. They can be coated with wax. The pickup trucks stolen from Neal’s Yard were tied up with cloth.

Neal’s Yard shipped the cheese to France in September. He said he realized he had been scammed when his bills went unpaid and his contacts with the fraudulent buyer suddenly became unreachable.

“We would like to make an appeal to everyone in our respected community of cheesemongers around the world,” the company said. Posted on Instagram In that case. “If you are offered or received cheeses believed to be associated with this theft, particularly cloth-covered Cheddars with labels removed in the 10kg or 24kg format, please contact [email protected] so we can support the police with their investigation.”

Cheese-related robberies appear to be quite rare. But this has happened before.

A gang of Italian foodies were accused of theft 2,039 wheels of Parmegiano-Reggiano Its value rose to $875,000 in 2015. Two years ago, an Illinois man was accused of theft. 21 tons of cheese from Wisconsin.

In July, a German police officer was fired for stealing cheddar cheese from an overturned truck while responding to a traffic accident. The officer lost an appeal against his dismissal. He refused to gnaw on any of the cheddar cheese.

This story has been updated with new information.