Cheesemakers left reeling after a 'bizarre' heist of cheddar worth almost $400,000

• Almost 50,000 pounds of artisanal cheese were stolen in a sophisticated heist in the UK.
• A fraudster posed as a French distributor and took delivery of the large order.

One of the most sophisticated cheese heists in history has left British cheesemakers reeling and facing an uncertain future.

On October 21, fraudsters posing as a French wholesaler stole 22 metric tons (about 48,500 pounds) of British cheddar cheese from Neal's Yard Dairy, a specialist cheese wholesaler and retailer based in London, outlets including BBC News reported.

Neal's Yard unwittingly delivered the cheese, estimated to be worth about £300,000 ($390,000), to the fraudsters before realizing they were not legitimate buyers.

The Metropolitan Police told Business Insider a 63-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods in connection with the case and released on bail.

The cheese is still missing, but those keenest to solve the mystery are the cheesemakers involved.

"It's so bizarre because how do you get rid of that much cheese and get a decent return on it?" Ben Ticehurst, dairy manager and head cheesemaker at Trethowan Brothers, told BI.

He believes the scam was meticulously planned, as his company was initially contacted about the fraudulent order in June. He also said the fraudsters "asked all the right questions," including the age profile of the cheese, which didn't raise any red flags.

"They came across as totally genuine," he said. "One of the things that made it so appealing was thinking that we'd see British cheese in a French supermarket."

Due to the quantity requested and the involvement of an international client, Trethowan Brothers, which supplied about half the order, worked with two other suppliers as well as Neal's Yard.

"We rallied around to try and fulfill the order because it was obviously going to be relatively good for us and also for Neal's Yard," said Tom Calver, director of Westcombe Dairy, another supplier caught up in the incident.

"It was incredibly sophisticated and also really quite surprising," he told BI. "Out of all the things that one could steal, 22 tonnes of artisanal cloth-bound cheddar probably wouldn't be high up on very many people's list, I would assume, but here we are."

Hanging in the balance

While the suppliers are still shocked by the theft, they've escaped any loss as Neal's Yard has borne the full financial brunt of the heist.

"From a purely balance sheet point of view, we've actually had one of the largest orders we ever had," Ticehurst said.

David Lockwood, director of Neal's Yard Dairy, told BI the theft will affect their annual results and cashflow, but that the "core of the business is strong."

"In a few years we hope to look back at a bad year that made us stronger," he said.

While suppliers hope the media coverage of the incident raises the profile of British cheddar, they're wary of the longer-term impact it will have on a key wholesaler and champion of British artisanal cheese makers.

'Honesty and trust'

"It's Neal's Yard who took that real hit — and they've always been such a force for good in the world of cheese," Ticehurst said.

"Our industry is based on a lot of honesty and trust, so it's difficult," Calver said.

Starting an artisan cheddar business is an expensive and laborious endeavor, Ticehurst added.

Equipment can cost about £750,000 ($974,000) and artisanal cheese can take at least 12 months to mature, meaning it can take more than a year to see any return on investment, Ticehurst said.

When his boss, Todd Trethowan, started the cheesemaking business over 20 years ago, Ticehurst said Neal's Yard took a chance by committing to buy its output without first sampling the final product.

"My fear would be that after this kind of financial hit, would they be in a position to be able to do that to new cheesemakers starting out?" Ticehurst said.

Calver said Neals Yard Dairy's ability to survive the financial loss is critical for the sector.

"We desperately need them to keep going and keep doing as they do, which is selling really good quality British cheese and also encouraging other producers to focus on quality and improvement," he said. "Their survival is absolutely part of our business plan."

Neal's Yard Dairy was founded in Covent Garden, central London, in 1979 by Nicholas Saunders and Randolph Hodgson when good cheese was "hard to find," according to its website. The company now sells dozens of British and Irish cheeses to customers in the UK and around the world.