Hundreds of truckles of cheddar worth more than £300,000 have been stolen from London cheese specialist Neal’s Yard Dairy

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Hundreds of truckles of cheddar worth more than £300,000 have been stolen from London cheese specialist Neal’s Yard Dairy.

Fraudsters posing as legitimate wholesalers received the 950 clothbound cheeses from the Southwark-based company before it was realised they were a fake firm.

Neal’s Yard said it had still paid the producers of the cheese so the individual dairies would not have to bear the costs.

It is now trying to deal with the financial setback, a spokesperson said.

‘Deeply embedded trust’

More than 22 tonnes of three artisan cheddars, including Hafod Welsh, Westcombe, and Pitchfork were taken, which are all award-winning and have a high monetary value.

Neal’s Yard Dairy sells Hafod Welsh for £12.90 for a 300g piece, while Westcombe costs £7.15 for 250g and Pitchfork is priced at £11 for 250g.

Patrick Holden, who owns the farm where Hafod cheddar is made, said: "The artisan cheese world is a place where trust is deeply embedded in all transactions.

“It’s a world where one’s word is one’s bond. It might have caused the company a setback, but the degree of trust that exists within our small industry as a whole is due in no small part to the ethos of Neal’s Yard Dairy’s founders.”

Tom Calver, from Westcombe Dairy, said: "The process of making that cheese started almost three years ago, when we planted seeds for the animals’ feed.

"The amount of work that’s gone into nurturing the cows, emphasising best farming practice, and transforming the milk one batch at a time to produce the best possible cheese is beyond estimation.

“And for that to be stolen… it’s absolutely terrible.”

The Met Police has confirmed it is investigating “the theft of a large quantity of cheese”.

Put it up on the “South Park-ass crimes” list, alongside the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist

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i just need to say thank you for sharing this this made my day

like sorry to the deeply embedded trust that has been broken but also this has given my sad self 42 writing ideas

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Actually genuinely happy my silly link sharing made someone’s day better

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truckle…

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The syrup heist is so deeply silly but also such a major crime here.

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i hyperfixated on that word and couldn’t read the article until I scrolled down to see that someone said this, thank you

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New sonic reboot totally butchering truckles’ character

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the scare quotes on this are absolutely sending me

also I can’t believe this is the second time this image has come up in a week:

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new new lex luthor meme etc etc :smile_cat:

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Just learned the word Truckle

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First the queen, now the cheese, of course the British are shaken.

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Every summer comes to an end…

In the end it may have just been too much cheddar to make a clean getaway.

A 63-year-old man has been arrested after more than 24 tons of artisanal cheese from one of Britain’s most famous dairy companies was stolen, authorities said.

The man was detained on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods. He was taken to a south London police station where he was questioned and has since been bailed pending further inquiries, according to a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police.

The cheese, worth over $390,000, was taken from London cheese specialist Neal’s Yard Dairy on Oct. 21, the company said in an Instagram post.

In an update made to the post’s caption on Wednesday, the company added, “On 30th October, we learned that the Metropolitan Police made an arrest in connection with the theft. We are grateful for the progress they have made, and we will continue to support their investigation in any way we can.”

The 950 wheels of cloth-wrapped artisanal cheddar were nabbed from Neal’s Yard Dairy by a fraudulent buyer posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer, the company said. Every wheel of cheese had been delivered before they realized they’d been scammed.

Three cheeses from three different suppliers were stolen: Hafod Welsh organic cheddar, Westcombe cheddar, and Pitchfork cheddar. Neal’s Yard Dairy said that “despite the significant financial blow,” they’ve paid each of their artisan cheesemakers in full for their products.

Tom Calver from Westcombe said in a video posted to Instagram that “it was a hoax — it was theft, it was fraud.” Behind him were rows of empty shelves in the dairy, showcasing how much cheese was taken.

Another cheesemaker, Trethowan Brothers, which supplied the Pitchfork Cheddar, said they were “fully (and swiftly) paid” by Neal’s Yard Dairy, despite the theft.

“The way they have handled this horrible situation has only deepened our respect and admiration for them,” Trethowan Brothers wrote in an Instagram post. “We are proud to supply them and call them our friends.”

Even British chef Jamie Oliver is spreading the word about the “grate cheese robbery.”

Oliver, who is known as “The Naked Chef” on TV, told his 10.5 million Instagram followers to be on the lookout for “lorry loads of very posh cheese.”

Oliver said that as the world’s most consumed cheese type, a cheddar theft affects exports to 20 different countries. He advised cheese enthusiasts to be wary of suspiciously large quantities of premium cheddar on the black market.

“Remember, if the deal seems too gouda to be true, it probably is!” he said.

The whereabouts of the stolen cheese have yet to be determined. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

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