A man has been arrested over the mass theft of cheese from a London dairy.
Detectives investigating the disappearance of 22 tonnes of cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy have arrested a 63-year-old man on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods.
Police launched an inquiry after the 950 wheels of cheese were allegedly stolen by a fraudster.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “On Monday, October 21, police received a report of the theft of a large quantity of cheese from a manufacturer based in Southwark.
“Investigating officers have since arrested a 63-year-old man on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods.
“The man was taken to a south London police station where he was questioned. He has since been bailed pending further inquiries.
“Inquiries remain ongoing.”
The celebrity chef Jamie Oliver told his 10.5 million Instagram followers after the theft: “There has been a great cheese robbery. Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen.”
Sarah Stewart, the owner of the cheese retailer, told the Times they had received messages of solidarity, offers of help and orders from new customers from around the world after the theft.
“Clearly British people love their cheese but we have had a lot of really incredible people getting in touch, it seems like it’s gone international,” she said. “We’ve had producers that we buy from asking what can they do, can they offer extended terms and financial support, and trade customers saying ‘can we pay quicker and what can we do?’.”
Neal’s Yard said the response to the theft by others in the food business had been “overwhelming”.
