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16 Notable Food Capers

It's not always banks that are targeted by thieves - A number of huge thefts over the past few years have included chocolate, beer, maple syrup, and even dog food. Check out this round-up of notable food thefts that left everybody scratchin' their heads!
By Sahara Borja
May Day, May Day! Earlier this month a woman from Cape Coral woman was arrested for allegedly taking cans of baby food from a Wal Mart in Port Charlotte on three separate dates in March. Surveilance videos led authorities to the suspect, who supposedly stole $1,400 worth of baby food.
Richard Hobson/iStock
It's not always banks that are targeted by thieves — a number of huge thefts over the past few years have included chocolate, beer, maple syrup, and even dog food. Check out this round-up of notable food thefts that left everybody scratching their heads!Take a little trip down memory lane with this collection of vintage food ads and these old buildings that were converted into cool, hip restaurants.
1

Baby Food

May Day, May Day! Earlier this month a woman from Cape Coral woman was arrested for allegedly taking cans of baby food from a Wal Mart in Port Charlotte on three separate dates in March. Surveilance videos led authorities to the suspect, who supposedly stole $1,400 worth of baby food.
Richard Hobson/iStock
In 2013, a woman from Cape Coral was arrested for allegedly taking cans of baby food from a Wal-Mart in Port Charlotte on three separate dates. Surveilance videos led authorities to the suspect, who supposedly stole $1,400 worth of baby food.
2

Campbell's Soup

Campbell's Soup is mm-mm good! Too good, perhaps. Earlier this year, a Florida man was accused of stealing a tractor trailer carrying $75,000 worth of Campbell's Soup. Combined, however, the theft of both totaled $350,000, police reports indicated. Said Florida man faces charges of grand theft of cargo and grand theft auto. We wonder if he even had a moment go sit down and enjoy a bowl...
Chris Eckert/Studio D
Campbell's Soup is mm-mm good! Too good, perhaps. Earlier this year, a Florida man was accused of stealing a tractor trailer carrying $75,000 worth of Campbell's Soup. With the tractor, the theft totaled $350,000, police reports said. The Florida man faces charges of grand theft of cargo and grand theft auto. We wonder if he even had a moment to sit down and enjoy a bowl.
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3

Bananas

Could the wily gang of Arrested Development be to blame for this massive banana theft of 2010? Perhaps they were simply seeking more bananas for the banana stand? At any rate, in July of 2010 a refrigerated trailer holding 980 boxes of bananas were stolen from Vineland Produce Auction. Quick, what's the math on 980 boxes of bananas? $15,000. That's a lot of banana splits.
Viktar Malyshchyts/iStock
Could the wily gang of Arrested Development be to blame for this massive banana theft in 2010? Perhaps they were simply seeking more bananas for the banana stand. In July 2010, a refrigerated trailer holding 980 boxes of bananas was stolen from Vineland Produce Auction. Quick, what's the price of 980 boxes of bananas? $15,000. That's a lot of banana splits!
4

Beer

Well, this operation gives new meaning to the word "bud," as that's just what one security guard at a  Budweiser warehouse was doing for his buds when he helped them cart off more than  $100,000 in cases of beer over several months by turning cameras away from the thieves while they ransacked the warehouse. On six different nights from November 2012 through February, the accused allegedly covered for the crew as they hauled off thousands of dollars worth of beer and non-alcoholic drinks, according to court documents.
Carlos Alvarez/iStock
This operation gave new meaning to the word "bud." That's the term one security guard at a Budweiser warehouse may have received from his friends when he helped them cart off more than $100,000 in cases of beer over several months. The guard would turn cameras away from the thieves while they ransacked the warehouse. On six different nights from November 2012 through February 2013, the accused allegedly covered for the crew as they hauled off thousands of dollars worth of beer and non-alcoholic drinks, according to court documents.
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5

Burger Patties

There's a Hamburglar on the loose! Or there was, earlier this year. Apparently he made off with $100,000 worth of burger patties in the Garde State, where they were being stored in a  shipping yard. Clearly the Paleo Diet is still rising in popularity…
Food Collection/Stockfood
There's a Hamburglar on the loose! Or there was, earlier this year. Apparently he made off with $100,000 worth of burger patties in the Garden State that were being stored in a shipping yard.
6

Muenster Cheese

Can you blame any cheese-lover for wanting more cheese than the average human?! Well, this desire unfortunately reached new levels in late March of 2013 when a 34-year-old-man was  found with roughly $200,000 worth of stolen Muenster cheese in his truck in New Jersey. The food was supposed to go to Texas before the New Jersey State Police Cargo Theft unit intercepted it thousands of miles away. Cheese is a precious commodity - one does not just simply forget about a truck full of cheese! Once inspected for safety concerns, however, the cheese was donated to charity.
Lara Robby/Studio D
Can you blame any cheese lover for wanting more cheese than the average human? Unfortunately desire led to theft in late March 2013, when a 34-year-old man was found with roughly $200,000 worth of stolen Muenster cheese in his truck in New Jersey. The food was supposed to go to Texas, but the New Jersey State Police Cargo Theft unit intercepted it thousands of miles away. Cheese is a precious commodity — one does not just simply forget about a truck full of cheese! Once inspected for safety, the cheese was donated to charity.
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7

Chocolate

Just in time for the winter holidays, Austrian police were searching for a thief last November who stole 18 tons of chocolate bars and then poof, disappeared into thin air. The scheme was as follows: a driver loaded 33 pallets of milk chocolate at a factory in Bludenz for a delivery in the Czech Republic, according to the Associated Press. The license plates and paperwork for the truck and driver, however, were forged. This was discovered when the real truck showed up later, the Austrian Independent says. Hopefully the thief spread some chocolate cheer around to boys and girls who were hoping for some in their Christmas stockings. Wishful thinking? Probably.
Petros Tsonis/iStock
In November 2012, Austrian police were searching for a thief who stole 18 tons of chocolate bars before disappearing. A driver loaded 33 pallets of milk chocolate from a factory in Bludenz that was supposed to go to the Czech Republic in his truck, according to the Associated Press. But the license plates and paperwork for the truck and driver were forged, which was only discovered when the real delivery truck showed up later, the Austrian Independent says. Hopefully the thief spread some chocolate cheer around to boys and girls who were hoping for some in their Christmas stockings. Wishful thinking? Probably.
8

Coffee

On the heels of the Nutella theft from the former railway station in Niederaula, police reported in April of 2013 that 10 pallettes of Eduscho brand German coffee had been stolen from a truck trailer, and was valued at about $39,000! We assume no such heist is possible without first having a strong cup o' joe...
Yuri Arcurs/iStock
German police reported in April 2013 that 10 pallettes of Eduscho brand German coffee had been stolen from a truck trailer. The goods were valued at about $39,000. We assume that heist was made possible by first having a strong cup o' joe.
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9

Girl Scout Cookies

You know, who doesn't like Girl Scout Cookies? To steal from a group of little ones, though, that is just beyond comprehension! In Feburary of 2013 Carey Moving & Storage in South Carolina were targeted in a series of Girl Scout thefts over a period of two weeks that left them with 450 cases less cookies, including Thin Mints and Shortbreads that were worth $18,900. Cookies were said to have been noticed missing after the initial delivery to the troops pre-distribution.
Catherine Lane/iStock
Who doesn't like Girl Scout Cookies? To steal from a group of little ones, though, is just beyond comprehension! In February 2013 Carey Moving & Storage in South Carolina was targeted in a series of Girl Scout thefts. Over a period of two weeks, 450 cases of cookies worth $18,900 were taken, including Thin Mints and Shortbreads.
10

Maple Syrup

Holy Cow! Who knew syrup was such a hot comodity?! In December of 2012, three people were arrested in connection with the $18-million maple syrup heist that took place in Quebec over the summer. Between August 2011 and July 2012, thieves made off with 9,600 barrels of maple syrup from a warehouse close to Quebec City. Police believe the barrels were siphoned off over the course of a year, and some were even believed to have been sold state side.
Brandon Blinkenberg/istock
Who knew syrup was such a hot commodity? In December 2012, three people were arrested in connection with an $18 million maple syrup heist that took place in Quebec over the summer. Between August 2011 and July 2012, thieves made off with 9,600 barrels of maple syrup from a warehouse close to Quebec City. Police believe the barrels were siphoned off over the course of a year, and some were even believed to have been sold state side.
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11

Nutella

We know Nutella is good. But how good, is the question. A thief in Germany reportedly took off with 5,000 jars of the gooey spread, valued at approximately $21,000 this past March, which was a particularly rough month where food thefts were concerned.
Traveler1116/iStock
We know Nutella is good. But how good, is the question. A thief in Germany reportedly took off with 5,000 jars of the gooey spread, valued at approximately $21,000, in March 2013.
12

Pork

Australia seems to be at the center of a lot of food thefts, what gives? In the summer of 2012 Australia found itself again at the center with whole pig carcasses, along with shoulders, legs, boxes of assorted pork and even a suckling pig stolen from Victoria's largest pork wholesaler. The refridgerated haul turned out to be worth in excess of $25,000. Maybe the thieves just wanted to make BLT's for all of Australia? Obviously we are not good Detectives...
Philip Friedman/Studio D
Australia seems to be at the center of a lot of food thefts. In the summer of 2012, whole pig carcasses, as well as shoulders, legs, boxes of assorted pork, and even a suckling pig were stolen from Victoria's largest pork wholesaler. The refrigerated haul turned out to be worth more than $25,000. Maybe the thieves just wanted to make BLTs for all of Australia.
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13

Dog Food

Food thefts aren't just limited to human food - even pets aren't safe from thievery sometimes. In November of 2013, Atlanta police were on the hunt for thieves who stole thousands of dollars worth of dog food from a mom and pop shop! The thieves made off with $30,000 worth of food from  the independent retailers, James Galloway and his wife, who are the only people in Georgia who distribute specialty dog food Pet Chef Express. They, of course, felt those $30,000 much harder than larger scale retailers or distributers. Make no bones about it, this was a lowly job.
Charles Mann/iStock
Food thefts aren't limited to human food — even pets aren't safe from thievery. In November 2013, Atlanta police were on the hunt for thieves who stole thousands of dollars worth of dog food from a mom-and-pop shop. The thieves made off with $30,000 worth of food from the independent retailers, James Galloway and his wife, who are the only people in Georgia who distribute a brand of specialty dog food called Pet Chef Express. They, of course, felt the loss much more than a larger-scale retailer or distributer would have. Make no bones about it, this was a lowly heist.
14

Red Bull

Summer CAN get hot. Coolin' off with a couple of energy drinks might breathe some life back into the listless month of August, right? And by a couple we mean 34,000, as in the case of last August, 2012, wherein 20 palettes with more than 34,000 cans of Red Bull destined for the United States from Germany were stolen. How much was that haul worth? A coooool $47,000...No reports of missing vodka followed this theft.
The Power of Forever Photography/iStock
Summer can get hot. Cooling off with a couple of energy drinks might breathe some life back into the listless month of August, right? And by a couple we mean 34,000, as in the case of last August's heist, when 20 palettes with more than 34,000 cans of Red Bull destined for the United States were stolen in Germany. How much was that haul worth? A cool $47,000. No reports of missing vodka followed this theft.
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15

Wine

We suppose a glass of wine is one way to warm up during the dead of winter. But what to do with 60,000 bottles?! That question is up to the thieves who stole this massive delivery from a depot close to Sydney, Australia. The estimated value of the delivery that was never delivered? A whopping $500,000! South Australian wineries affected by the theft include Gemtree Vineyards, Chapel Hill Wines, Lakebreeze Wines, Tapestry Wines, Setanta Wines, Zontes Footsteps, Paxton Wines, Geoff Hardy/Pertaring Wines, and Dandelion Vineyards. Keep your eye on your cheese supply, just in case...
Artur Kozyrski/iStock
We suppose a glass of wine is one way to warm up during the dead of winter. But what to do with 60,000 bottles? That question is up to the thieves who stole this massive delivery from a depot close to Sydney, Australia. The estimated value of the haul was $500,000. South Australian wineries affected by the theft include Gemtree Vineyards, Chapel Hill Wines, Lakebreeze Wines, Tapestry Wines, Setanta Wines, Zontes Footsteps, Paxton Wines, Geoff Hardy/Pertaring Wines, and Dandelion Vineyards.
16

Chicken Wings

Sure, Monday nights would be a little worse without wings but are they worth stealing?! Someone thinks so. In February of 2012, an employee of a meat and poultry company was accused and arrested of stealing $10,000 worth of chicken wings and other meat from the company over several heists! Better put a lock on that BBQ sauce warehouse...
iStockphoto
Sure, Monday nights would be a little worse without wings, but is it worth stealing them? Someone thinks so. In February 2012, an employee of a meat and poultry company was accused of and arrested for stealing $10,000 worth of chicken wings and other meat from the company through several heists. Better put a lock on that BBQ sauce warehouse!
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