Thieves steal more than 400,000 KitKat bars from lorry right before Easter
More than 400,000 KitKat bars have been stolen from a truck in Europe, Nestlé confirmed.
A lorry carrying some 12 tons of the popular chocolate-covered wafer snack set out this week from the company’s factory in Perugia, central Italy.
It was loaded with a total of 413,793 bars from the brand’s latest official Formula One range.
The bars were supposed to be distributed across Europe with the delivery ending in Poland, but it never reached its destination after the truck was hijacked by thieves.
Both the lorry and its sweet contents remain unaccounted for and it is as of yet unknown where the vehicle was intercepted.
It said it was investigating the incident with authorities and supply chain partners.
The Switzerland-based confectioner said in a statement: ‘We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KITKAT – but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tonnes of our chocolate.
‘Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes.
‘With more sophisticated schemes being deployed on a regular basis, we have chosen to go public with our own experience in the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend.’
While the bars could be sold through unofficial channels, they can be traced via their unique batch code.
Nestlé added that consumers, wholesalers and retailers would be able to check if they had purchased a stolen product.
Anyone who scans the number for a stolen batch of KitKats will be directed to instructions on how to contact the company.
It said that consumers should not attempt to track or locate the missing items, but hand any information to the company or local authorities.
It comes after a report from the International Union of Marine Insurance
(IUMI) and Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) found an alarming rise in cargo theft, with criminals turning to more sophisticated methods.
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