Florida Thieves Steal $85,000 In Mozzarella Cheese

Only in Florida. Police are on the lookout for some cheesy thieves after they made off with a delivery trailer containing at least $85,000 in shredded mozzarella. WSLS News 10 reports that the truck was reported stolen on Sunday, which by itself is valued at $62,000. The refrigerated tractor-trailer was supposed to be delivering the massive amount of cheese to Hungry Howie’s Pizza’s distribution hub. However, the driver — who had his girlfriend with him at the time — left the truck unattended at a truck stop Saturday. A mechanic was scheduled to look at the vehicle prior to the delivery, for some reason.

The missing truck and trailer reportedly has a Michigan license plate, but it’s not clear if the thieves left it intact by this time — especially knowing that a massive hunt is now underway for the truck containing at least a ton of shredded cheese. No reports have indicated whether or not the central Florida distribution center for Hungry Howies will quickly recover the huge loss. The Orlando Sentinel reports that a hauler was also missing from the same truck lot where the trailer containing cheese was stolen. It’s possible that the stolen hauler was used to take the trailer during the theft. The Orlando Sentinel is also apparently filing this story under its collection of other bizarre stories involving Florida’s finest criminals, but who took the cheese?

Hey, believe it or not, this isn’t the first time cheese has been stolen. In fact, the Huffington Post reported in 2011 that cheese is the most stolen food in the world. Research on this exciting topic in the U.K. found that a lot of stolen cheese is turned around and then resold to restaurants and markets. If that’s truly the case, it’s safe to say that someone isn’t sitting on top of a ton of cheese for his or her own personal consumption. On the other hand, stranger things have definitely happened in the state of Florida.

ABC News reported in 2013 that a man named Veniamin Balika was accused of stealing 42,000 pounds of Muenster cheese, which was taken from a cheese company in Wisconsin. Also, just this year, a couple from Tennessee were arrested for stealing at least 57 blocks of cheese from a Walmart store in Georgia. The stolen blocks were found stuffed under the floorboards of their vehicle. Come to find out, cheese thievery isn’t isolated to Florida and those who live in the sunshine state.

If you know anything about this theft, please don’t hesitate to contact the authorities. Do it for the hungry folks at Hungry Howies. Or at the least, do it for the pizza.

[Photo: Wikipedia/Jon Sullivan]