A brazen theft of KitKat bars is the latest in a growing and costly trend of organized criminals targeting everything from candy to high-end pantry staples.

The late March heist — which Nestlé said involved nearly 12 tons of KitKat bars stolen in transit from Italy to Poland — is part of a broader pattern of food thefts drawing increasing attention from businesses and law enforcement.

While KitKat leaned into the humor, a spokesperson said the issue is no joke.

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“Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes,” the spokesperson said in a published statement.

KitKat acknowledged the unusual nature of the incident while urging the public to help identify the missing chocolate products. (Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A recent report from the International Union of Marine Insurance and the Transported Asset Protection Association highlighted a sharp rise in cargo theft and freight fraud, with criminals using increasingly sophisticated tactics, the company noted.

From so-called “liquid gold” to truckloads of nuts and wheels of cheese, here are some of the most notable food heists throughout the years:

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1. $18M sticky syrup scheme

A notorious food crime in Quebec, Canada, between 2011 and 2012 saw thieves steal nearly 3,000 tons of maple syrup from a global reserve, in what was believed to be an inside job.

Cargo theft involving food and beverage shipments is drawing growing concern from businesses worldwide. (Graham Hughes/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Valued at roughly $18.7 million, the heist involved replacing the syrup in industrial barrels with water to avoid detection during routine checks, according to the CBC. The theft was so massive it inspired the 2024 Amazon Prime series “The Sticky.” 

2. 5-ton Nutella night raid

Thieves in the German town of Bad Hersfeld made off with more than five tons of Nutella in 2013. The haul, worth an estimated $20,000, consisted of roughly 6,875 large jars.

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Just weeks earlier, a coffee shipment worth more than $30,000 was stolen in the same central German town, and a truckload of Red Bull went missing the previous year, The Guardian reported at the time.

Thieves in Germany stole more than five tons of Nutella in a late-night warehouse raid in 2013. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

3. $170K pistachio shell game

In June 2021, California authorities arrested a man in Tulare County for stealing 42,000 pounds of pistachios, according to reports. The Touchstone Pistachio Company noticed a discrepancy during a routine audit and discovered that $170,000 worth of nuts had vanished.

Local law enforcement said at the time that nut theft is common in the San Joaquin Valley because pistachios have a high selling point and are difficult to track once removed from their original packaging. In this case, the suspect was caught as he was allegedly moving the nuts from 2,000-pound sacks into smaller bags for resale.

4. $390K cheese caper

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Cheese remains a perennial favorite for gastro gangsters, as its long shelf life and high demand make it especially lucrative.

Pantry staples like cheese, nuts and oil have become lucrative targets for thieves. (iStock)

In 2024, fraudsters posing as a French distributor reportedly tricked London-based Neal’s Yard Dairy into handing over about $390,000 worth of artisanal cheddar — roughly 24 tons — in a sophisticated scam in which the cheese was never recovered, even after an arrest.

Meanwhile, in 2009, New Zealand police arrested two suspects who stole large blocks of cheddar from a train bound for Auckland and tossed boxes of the cheese into the road during a police chase, according to The Guardian.

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5. $2.5M slippery olive oil scheme

In 2024, thieves stole $2.5 million worth of olive oil from a Houston warehouse. (iStock)

Thieves stole about $2.5 million worth of premium olive oil from a Houston warehouse in 2024, making off with 18 truckloads of the liquid gold. 

The stolen oil later began appearing in stores at steep discounts, sometimes selling for half price. The company believed the theft was organized and turned to the public for help tracking down the missing goods, the New York Post reported at the time.

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6. 200,000 Easter eggs hunted

Nearly 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs were stolen in England but police quickly recovered the haul. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A 32-year-old man was convicted of stealing nearly 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs worth an estimated $48,000 from an industrial unit in England in 2023, shortly before Easter, according to reports. Prosecutors said the heist was carefully planned, involving tools to break in and a stolen truck to haul away the chocolate. 

Police quickly recovered the eggs after stopping the man in his vehicle, however, and joked on social media that they “helped save Easter.”