£300K Artisan Cheese Heist: Man Arrested in Cheddar Swindle

LONDON: A 63-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the theft of high-value artisan cheddar cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy in Southwark, London. The theft, reported to the police on October 21, involved fraudsters impersonating genuine wholesalers to obtain hundreds of premium truckles, worth an estimated £300,000.

The cheeses, totaling over 22 tonnes, included three prized varieties: Hafod Welsh, Westcombe, and Pitchfork, known for their award-winning quality and significant market value. Neal’s Yard Dairy, which sells these artisan products, prices Hafod Welsh at £12.90 per 300g, while Westcombe and Pitchfork sell for £7.15 and £11 per 250g, respectively.

After receiving the cheeses, the impersonators were discovered to be a fake company, resulting in substantial losses for Neal’s Yard Dairy. Despite the setback, the company has assured that it covered payments to the producers to prevent the individual dairies from absorbing the financial hit.

The suspect, now out on bail, was questioned at a police station in south London, and investigations remain ongoing as authorities seek further details on the elaborate cheese heist.