A whopping £300ks worth of cheese stolen from the UK could be heading to Russia. The Daily Star reported on Saturday how 950 wheels of premium Cheddar were stolen from Neal’s Yard Dairy. The thieves managed to trick the artisanal cheese retailer into handing over £300,000 worth of cheese by posing as a French wholesaler.
Seeming legitimate enough, the Borough Market-based cheese manufacturer handed over 22 tones of premium Cheddar in the sophisticated con. Neal’s Yard is working alongside UK and international law enforcement agencies to try and identify the thieves.
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However it now appears that the cheese could be heading for Russia, according to one of the cheesemakers whose cheese was stolen as part of the con.
(Image: Neal’s Yard Dairy/Instagram)
Patrick Holden’s Hafod Welsh Cheddar was in the shipment, and he said: “I think they’re hoping to sell it in the Middle East or Russia, that’s my guess. Because people won’t ask questions there. I think if they tried to sell it closer to home they’d find it difficult because the international artisan community is very connected.
“If they tried to sell it in North America, where we sell a lot of Hafod, or even Australia believe it or not, the balloon would go up because people would ask questions.”
A spokesperson from Neal’s Yard Dairy also commented on Instagram: “The theft involved a fraudulent buyer posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor for a major French retailer.
“Over 950 wheels of Hafod, Westcombe, and Pitchfork Cheddar were delivered before the fraud was discovered. Despite the significant financial blow, we have honoured our commitment to our small-scale suppliers and paid all three artisan cheesemakers in full.”
The cheesemakers then urged anyone with information to contact info@nealsyarddairy.co.uk. The cheeses are reportedly clothbound, and come in 10kg and 24kg wheels.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “On Monday, 21 October we received a report of the theft of a large quantity of cheese from a manufacturer based in Southwark. Enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.”
Police confirmed that no arrests have yet been made.
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