Detectives investigating the theft of 22 tonnes of cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy have arrested a 63-year-old man on suspicion of fraud by false representation and handling stolen goods.
The London cheese specialist delivered 950 wheels of cheddar – reported to be worth up to £300,000 – to an alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor for a big French retailer.
The cheese is believed to have been spirited away to Russia or the Middle East, according to suppliers to the company who were caught up in the scam on 21 October.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson said the 63-year-old man was arrested and taken to a south London police station where he was questioned.
The spokesperson added: “He has since been bailed pending further inquiries. Inquiries remain ongoing.”
Neal’s Yard still paid Westcombe Dairy in Somerset, as well as the producers Hafod and Pitchfork, so they would not have to bear the cost of the theft “despite the significant financial blow”.
The celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was among figures from the food world who rallied around the retailer. He told his 10.5 million Instagram followers to be alert for “lorryloads of posh cheese” being sold “for cheap”.
“There has been a great cheese robbery. Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen,” he wrote.
Oliver described it as a “real shame”, adding: “If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it’s probably some wrong’uns.”
Tom Calver, the director of Westcombe Dairy in Westcombe, Somerset, produced some of the stolen cheese and said he was “hugely distressed” when he heard the news.
“I was really concerned about what it was and the implications of it. Neal’s Yard have been fantastic,” he said. “We are just trying to support them as much as possible by encouraging people to shop with them. It is a huge, very difficult loss.”
Ben Ticehurst, the head cheesemaker at the Trethowan Brothers dairy, which allegedly had 12 tonnes of its Pitchfork cheddar stolen, said: “We, like the rest of the world, were left wondering, who wants that much cheese? If you’re not a supermarket, what do you do with 22 tonnes of cheese? It’s really puzzling for us, and so hopefully the arrest will bring answers.”