Hoard of worlds best cheddar could be sold in Russia or the Middle East after £300k of it was stolen by fraudsters, experts warn - as international manhunt is launched to find the culprits of the Grate Cheese Robbery
An international manhunt has been launched to find a gang of cheese fraudsters who stole £300,000 worth of premium cheddar from a London dairy.
An international manhunt has been launched to find a gang of cheese fraudsters who stole £300,000 worth of premium cheddar from a London dairy.
The award-winning cheeses, which include Westcombe and Pitchfork, are sold for as much as £45 per kilo from Londons specialist Neals Yard Dairy in Covent Garden.
In a sophisticated scam dubbed The Grate Cheese Robbery, Neals Yard mistakenly sent 950 wheels to the fraudsters posing as a legitimate wholesale distributor.
Welsh supplier, Patrick Holden, who lost truckles of his Hafod Welsh Cheddar in the scam, said the cheese may have been taken to Russia or the Middle East.
Now, The Met Police has said it is investigating the robbery and said it was working with international authorities to identify the scammers.
Mr Holden told the BBC these scammers cleverly covered their tracks by asking Neils Yard to dispatch the cheese to another warehouse in or around London from where it could be collected.
They have already claimed £300,000, these criminals, and if they sell the cheese theyll get more again, Mr Holden added.
I think theyre hoping to sell it in the Middle East or Russia, thats my guess.
Mr Holden believes buyers are less likely to ask questions abroad than closer to home.
Neals Yard Dairy said it had still paid Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork, the producers of the cheese, despite the significant financial blow
Neals Yard Dairy mistakenly sent 950 wheels to the fraudsters who had posed as a legitimate wholesale distributor
Neils Yard Dairy say they have been overwhelmed by messages of support, offers of financial support and cheese orders from as far as America and Germany after having more than 22 tonnes of the worlds best cheddar stolen.
Cheese lovers around the world have been left outraged by the calculated heist, with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver leading the fight to get justice for the dairy.
Describing the four-month scam as The Grate Cheese Robbery, he said: In a shocking turn of events, Neals Yard Dairy has fallen victim to a brazen heist of epic proportions.
Neals Yard Dairy said it has been truly touched by the support following the elaborate scam.
The retailers owner, Sarah Stewart, told The Times: Clearly British people love their cheese but we have had a lot of really incredible people getting in touch, it seems like its gone international.
She added: Trade customers have been saying: Can we pay quicker? and what can we do?
We have three shops in London and a lot of our customers have come in really concerned and offering support, and then our e-commerce has seen an uplift in orders.
We are trying to look forward and take heart from the incredible support and the interest its generated and people emailing super nice messages. Its overwhelming.
Neals Yard Dairy said it had still paid Hafod, Westcombe and Pitchfork, the producers of the cheese, despite the significant financial blow.
Sarah Stewart (pictured), the cheese companys owner, said they had been overwhelmed by the support
Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver slammed the alleged scammers on his Instagram story last week. He dubbed it The Grate Cheese Robbery
Jamie Oliver called for help to track down the fraudsters responsible for the cheese scam
Tom Calver, director of Westcombe Dairy in Westcombe, Somerset, produced some of the stolen cheese and said he was hugely distressed when he heard the news.
Mr Calver, 42, said: I was really concerned about what it was and the implications of it.
Neals Yard have been fantastic. We are just trying to support them as much as possible by encouraging people to shop with them.
It is a huge, very difficult loss.
Neals Yard said it was working with police to identify the perpetrators.
Mr Calver said it took him half a day to sell one cheese at a market this weekend.
It is ridiculous - out of all the things to steal in the world - 22 tonnes of cheese? he added.
What it does show, which I am amazed about, is the value people put on these amazing artisan foods.
Mr Calvers Westcombe Cheddar is aged for 12 to 18 months and he said the stolen cheese was produced 15 months ago.
He said: What worries me is the trust element in things. At the end of the day what we need to have is more trust in the food supply system, rather than less of it.
I hope more people will want to know where their food comes from.
Mr Calvers cheddar sells for £7 for 250g.
What we are doing is we have two herds of cows. We are farming in a regenerative way trying to work alongside nature rather than against it, he said.
We are going for quality and trying to create a flavour of a specific place and moment in time.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: On Monday October 21, we received a report of the theft of a large quantity of cheese from a manufacturer based in Southwark.
Inquiries are ongoing into the circumstances.
There has been no arrest.
