A lot of people find it unusual to hear thieves stealing different kinds of expensive food and beverage, although it does happen probably more often than most would think. In fact, cheese is the most stolen food product in the world.
In one of the most recent food-related heists, French thieves were found to have stolen $43,000 worth of cheese from a French dairy. Eater reports:
"Earlier this week, thieves in France made off with four tonnes or just over 8,818 pounds of Comté cheese. 'L'Est Republicain reports the theft took place in Goux-les-Usiers, a region in Doubs in Eastern France where Comté, a hard, aged cheese is produced. The cheese sells for about 40 Euros or $43 USD per pound. But the police are stumped: How will the thieves sell this cheese - which is worth more than $43,000 USD - on the black market?"
Comté is not your average cheese; as it turns out, it's a luxury cheese that is only made in the Franche-Comté region, and is made with unpasteurized cow's milk. Approximately 100 wheels of Comté were reportedly stolen.
According to Telegraph, local police were called to the scene after the robbers snuck into a store's barbed-wire fence, using a crowbar to break into the dairy.
Not only that, but it is believed that the stolen dairy product is most likely to make its way into restaurants and other markets outside of France in the following weeks.
Unfortunately, French police have no idea as to how they will be able to track the thieves - who made sure that no breadcrumbs were left behind.
Residents living in the area didn't even notice anything unusual happening during the heist. Living right next to the dairy, André said: "We heard nothing. [...] The people who did this, they must know the area."
"With such a quantity, you need a means of transport and a distribution network," said Head of the Chamber of Agriculture for the Doubs region, Daniel Prier.
