‘Grate cheese robbery’: British police make arrest in connection with 24-ton cheddar theft
LONDON − British police arrested a man implicated in a brazen heist not so much of epic bank-robbery proportions, though the theft did involve 24 tons of loot, more smooth and waxy, relatively hard but also buttery, sharp-tasting.
He was detained in connection with a cheddar cheese theft.
The arrest was for an incident that left the artisanal British cheese-making world reeling in late October when rare cheddar worth around $390,000 was stolen from Neal’s Yard Dairy, a leading specialist London cheese retailer.
Metropolitan Police confirmed late Thursday in a statement that the man arrested, who was not identified but said to be 63-years-old, was detained on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods in connection with the case. A police spokesman said the man was released on bail pending further inquiries.
No other details about the investigation or other potential suspects were released.
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The case of the “grate cheese robbery,” as the British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver[2] dubbed it, began in July when a buyer posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer ordered 950 “truckles” of Hafod Welsh organic cheddar, Westcombe cheddar and Pitchfork cheddar from Neal’s Yard. A truckle is a cylindrical wheel of cheese. They vary in size. They can be coated in wax. The truckles stolen from Neal’s Yard were bound in cloth.
Neal’s Yard shipped the cheese to France in September. It said it realized it had been scammed when its invoices had not been paid and its contacts with the fraudulent buyer suddenly became unreachable.
“We would like to put out a call to everyone within our esteemed community of cheesemongers around the world,” the company posted on Instagram[3] at the time. “If anyone is offered or receives cheeses they believe may have been associated with this theft, particularly clothbound Cheddars in a 10kg or 24kg format with the tags detached, please contact [email protected] so we can support the police in their investigation.”
Cheese-related heists appear to be fairly rare. However they have taken place before.
A gang of Italian gourmands was charged with stealing 2,039 wheels of Parmegiano-Reggiano[4] worth up to $875,000 in 2015. Two years earlier, an Illinois man was accused of stealing 21 tons of a cheese from Wisconsin[5].
In July, a German police officer was fired for stealing cheddar cheese from an overturned truck while attending a traffic accident. The officer lost an appeal against his dismissal. He denied nibbling on any of the cheddar.
This story has been updated with new information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arrest made in in theft of $390,000 cheddar from British cheese store[6]
References
- ^ Franken-pastries invade Paris Olympics. Simone Biles is a fan (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver (www.instagram.com)
- ^ posted on Instagram (www.instagram.com)
- ^ 2,039 wheels of Parmegiano-Reggiano (www.vice.com)
- ^ 21 tons of a cheese from Wisconsin (www.nbcchicago.com)
- ^ Arrest made in in theft of $390,000 cheddar from British cheese store (www.usatoday.com)