The weirdest heists in history after thieves’ brazen KitKat lorry raid
The weirdest heists in history after thieves’ brazen KitKat lorry raid
Not every heist needs to be as high-stakes or glamorous as the cinematic thrillers that paint them. While films like Ocean’s Eleven or Wallace and Gromit’s antics often showcase dramatic escapes and flashy thefts, real-world crimes can be surprisingly mundane yet equally audacious.
Recently, a peculiar theft captured headlines: over 400,000 KitKat chocolate bars vanished from a truck en route between Nestlé’s factory in Perugia, Italy, and a destination in Poland. The incident, involving a haul of 12 tons of the iconic chocolate-covered wafer snacks, has sparked discussions about the evolving nature of theft in the modern era.
KitKat made a lighthearted remark about the incident, stating that they had decided to share their experience to highlight the growing trend of such thefts.
Despite the gravity of the crime, the brand’s response was unexpectedly cheerful, emphasizing the need to raise awareness about this increasingly common phenomenon. The theft wasn’t entirely unexpected—chocolate, though delicious, is also a highly desirable target.
In 2023, a similar incident occurred in Telford, Shropshire, where 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs disappeared from a trailer. The culprit, Joby Pool, was a 32-year-old from near Leeds who had previously stolen a tractor in October and used it to haul the stolen goods in February. Pool was later apprehended on the M42, where he admitted to the crime.
Looking further back, Europe witnessed a bizarre wave of cargo thefts in the late 2010s. In August 2017, thieves swiped a semi-trailer loaded with 20 tons of Nutella and Kinder Surprise eggs from Neustadt, Germany. This theft included thousands of plastic toys, which were likely a bonus for the criminals.
Just days later, another semi-trailer containing 30 tons of fruit juice was stolen from Wittenburg, a town near Hamburg. However, the most staggering theft of that year came in January 2018, when two trailers worth 44 tons of chocolate disappeared from an industrial park in Freiburg.
Across the Atlantic, a surprising twist was added to the story of cheese theft. In January 2016, police in Marshfield, Wisconsin, discovered that $90,000 worth of parmesan cheese had vanished from a distributor. A tip led them to a warehouse in Grand Chute, where the stolen cheese was recovered just two weeks later.
Meanwhile, in October 2024, London’s Neal’s Yard cheese firm fell victim to a cunning scam. The company was contacted by individuals claiming to represent a major French retailer’s wholesale distributor. The deception left the firm scrambling, as suppliers were left unpaid for 950 wheels of cheddar—22 tons in total—valued at around £300,000.
Even the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion, a trailblazing attraction, couldn’t escape a bizarre chapter in its history. In August 2018, the museum’s tanks and displays were emptied overnight, with thousands of live bugs stolen. The event led to a four-part documentary and tensions among staff over responsibility.
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