Police on the scent as cheese robbery plot crumbles

Times

17 hours ago

Detectives hunting the gang behind the Grate Cheese Robbery, in which 22 tonnes of the world's finest cloth-bound artisan cheddar was stolen in an elaborate fraud, have arrested six middle-aged men as they stay on the scent of the suspects.
A crew of con artists allegedly spent four months convincing Neal's Yard Dairy, the London wholesaler and retailer of artisan cheeses, that they were a well-known French cheese-buyer for a major distributor and supermarket, before making off with £300,000 worth of cloth-bound raw-milk cheddar.In two truckloads they took away 950 wheels of cheese in October last year, including 12 tonnes of Pitchfork Cheddar, nine tonnes of Westcombe Cheddar and two tonnes of Hafod Cheddar.
When Neal's Yard weren't paid after delivery they quickly established that they had been conned and went to the police. They paid the three small-scale artisan cheese producers in full 'despite the significant financial blow' to themselves.A week later, detectives from the Metropolitan Police's specialist crime command arrested a 63-year-old man on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods.
Since then news of the investigation has fallen silent as investigators sniffed out the trail of the stolen truckles.
The Met has now revealed that they began arresting more suspects at the end of last year and made their latest arrest last month.
The six men, aged between 37 and 63, have been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods. A 50-year-old man has also been interviewed under caution.All six arrested suspects have been released under investigation pending further enquiries.
Ben Ticehurst, the head cheesemaker at Trethowan Brothers dairy, which makes Pitchfork Cheddar ten miles from the Somerset town that gives it name to the cheese, said it was 'very heartening to think that even if we have pushed it to the back of our minds, the police are digging in and finding out what has gone on'.
Ticehurst added: 'Thankfully no one was harmed [during the theft] but for any of the small producers it could have been game over if Neal's Yard hadn't taken the financial hit and paid us.' 'Despite that, it will still have had a huge impact on their ability to help small cheesemakers like us, with the incredible amount of work they put into their staff helping cheesemakers with incredibly technical things so we can make the best cheeses we can.'
After the initial arrest of the 63-year-old man on October 30 last year, things went quiet until a flurry of activity in the New Year. A 37-year-old man was arrested on January 2, followed by a 45-year-old man on January 13 and another 63-year-old man on January 21.
A 57-year-old man was arrested on April 30 and detectives arrested a 54-year-old man on July 3 and interviewed the 50-year-old man under caution on July 4.
The alleged con started with an email to Neal's Yard in July 2024, from someone with a seemingly deep knowledge of cheese, requesting 950 cheddar truckles, or uncut wheels of cheese.
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Over the course of several months the perpetrators allegedly impersonated a reputable distributor well known within the European cheese industry. An elaborate contract was drawn up, outlining detailed payment terms, and conversations with the alleged representative demonstrated a deep understanding of the sector, further lending credibility to the scheme.
At the end of September, a haulier organised by the alleged fraudsters collected half the cheese from Neal's Yard Dairy's warehouse in Bermondsey, southeast London.
The second delivery was made by a haulier arranged by Neal's Yard itself, who was instructed to drop the cheese off at a warehouse in north London. The haulier who carried out the delivery reported that the warehouse was 'not a typical food warehouse'.
Neal's Yard was supposed to be paid within a week of the deliveries being made, which is typical for the food industry, but by the start of October they had heard nothing from the supposed cheese-buyer.When they contacted the legitimate distributor, who they believed had made the order, they quickly established that they had been conned.
The cheeses could conceivably be stored for up to 18 months, at the right temperature, without deterioration but as soon as they are cut they will dry and need to be eaten.
The cheese producers believe the thieves may have tried to smuggle the cheese into the Middle East or Russia, away from the watchful gaze of the international artisan cheesemaking community, to avoid detection.
News of the fraud, first dubbed the 'grate cheese robbery' by Jamie Oliver, made headlines around the world and shone a spotlight on the world of expensive artisan produce.
Ticehurst believes the public were initially shocked that someone would value cheese highly enough to organise an elaborate deception to steal it, but he thinks their produce should be regarded in the same way as fine wines or sports cars.Pitchfork Cheddar is made by hand in small batches and costs about £1,200 per 25kg truckle. After its first year of production it won Best British Cheese at the World Cheese Awards in 2019 and was judged the fourth best cheese on the planet.To be considered traditional Somerset clothbound cheddar, it must be made by hand from raw cow's milk, with calf rennet and local starter cultures used in the process.