From cheese robberies and stolen Nutella trucks to a submarine loaded with salami—these are some of the more remarkable culinary crimes of recent decades.
The theft of approximately 12 tonnes of KitKat chocolate bars is currently making headlines across Europe. More than 400,000 bars vanished last week while en route from central Italy to Poland—and have yet to be recovered. Where exactly the truck disappeared remains unclear. Manufacturer Nestlé has stated that the products can be traced via unique barcodes, noting: “While we may appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, this does not change the fact that cargo theft is an increasing challenge for companies of all sizes.”
Only weeks earlier, a truck carrying 15 tonnes of gummy bears disappeared in Germany. Food-related crime, it seems, is drawing renewed attention. Yet while such incidents may appear to be increasing, the phenomenon itself is far from new. Over the decades, a number of unusually large and curious food thefts have been recorded worldwide.
One of the more unusual cases dates back to 1948, when a miniature submarine was discovered in Lake Lugano, Switzerland. Measuring just three metres in length, the vessel had been specifically designed to smuggle salami and cheese across the Swiss–Italian border, bypassing customs duties. Powered by pedals connected to a propeller, it was capable of transporting up to 450 kilograms of goods—an inventive solution shaped by the economic conditions of post-war Europe.
Between July 25 and August 1, 2018, an entire truck carrying more than 300,000 packets of instant ramen—valued at roughly $98,000—vanished in the U.S. state of Georgia. The vehicle had been parked overnight at a petrol station. To this day, neither the perpetrators nor the cargo have been located.
In early April 2013, thieves broke into a truck container in Niederaula, Germany, making off with five tonnes of Nutella worth approximately €15,000. While thousands of jars were taken, authorities recovered more than 2,000 during raids in eastern Hesse. Four suspects were arrested. The location appears to have been targeted repeatedly, with trucks carrying energy drinks previously looted at the same site.
Between 2011 and 2012, one of the largest food thefts on record took place in Québec, Canada. Approximately 2,700 tonnes of maple syrup were siphoned from the province’s strategic reserve, representing a value of nearly $18 million. Posing as legitimate warehouse renters, those responsible extracted syrup from barrels using hoses and replaced it with water to delay detection. The stolen goods were later sold across New Brunswick, Ontario and Vermont. The theft was only uncovered during a routine inspection. Roughly two-thirds of the syrup was recovered; the remainder is still missing. The ringleader, Richard Vallières, was sentenced to eight years in prison. The case was later featured in the Netflix documentary Dirty Money.
In October 2024, 22 tonnes of premium cheddar—valued at around £300,000—were stolen in the United Kingdom. The perpetrators posed as wholesalers to obtain 950 wheels of cheese aged between 12 and 18 months. The exclusivity of the product made it difficult to resell, requiring access to established distribution networks. The case attracted widespread attention, prompting celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to publicly appeal to the thieves. Referring to it as the “great cheese robbery,” he remarked: “It’s the grate cheese robbery.” Six suspects have since been arrested, though most of the cheese remains unaccounted for.
