Authorities have arrested a man they believe to be involved in a gourmet cheddar heist that left the artisanal cheese community reeling.
A 63-year-old man has been charged with the theft of 22 tons of artisanal cheddar, worth £300,000 (about $390,000), from Neal's Yard Dairy. The stolen goods — 950 wheels of high-quality cheddar — were delivered to a fraudster posing as a legitimate distributor for a French retailer, only for the cheese to disappear, allegedly to markets in Russia and the Middle East.
After anonymous tips led to a raid on the suspect, he was questioned on suspicion of fraud and handling stolen goods before being released on bail. "Inquiries remain ongoing," a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told The Guardian.
The London heist has rocked the artisanal cheese community, with prominent chef Jamie Oliver joining the rally for justice. He alerted his 10.5 million Instagram followers to "be wary of suspiciously large quantities of premium Cheddar on the black market."
In a video, Oliver said, "Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen," adding in the caption, "If the deal seems too gouda to be true, it probably is!"
Producers, including Westcombe Dairy's Tom Calver, expressed distress over the incident. "It is a huge, very difficult loss," Calver told The Guardian, noting Neal's Yard Dairy's commitment to covering the loss for suppliers despite the financial blow. Neal's Yard owner Sarah Stewart expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support, saying, "We've had incredible people getting in touch...it's gone international."
Ben Ticehurst, head cheesemaker at Trethowan Brothers, remarked on the bizarre scale of the heist. "We, like the rest of the world, were left wondering, who wants that much cheese? If you're not a supermarket, what do you do with 22 tonnes of cheese?" he asked in The Guardian. "It's really puzzling for us, and so hopefully the arrest will bring answers."
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