Swiss food giant Nestlé reported that thieves stole a truck carrying around 12 tons of KitKat chocolate bars last week.
The company described it as an escalation of cargo theft across Europe.
It is reported that the truck was loaded with almost 413,793 bars of the new KitKat chocolate range.
It left the production site in central Italy and was destined for Poland. However, he was never able to achieve this.
Nestlé further stated that investigations were still ongoing in collaboration with local authorities, with the vehicle and its contents currently missing.
According to the company spokesperson, “We’ve always encouraged people to take a break from KitKat. But it seems the thieves took the message too literally and made a break with over 12 tons of our chocolate.”
Nestlé has not yet confirmed the motive, as the thieves have not been arrested.
But the most likely reason may be resale value. The estimated street value of the stolen chocolate is around $100,000 or more.
This is a lucrative target for organized cargo theft networks. Another important reason may be the increase in demand across Europe as Easter approaches.
The company also warned that the missing bars could “enter unofficial sales channels.”
But authorities confirm that the stolen chocolate is easily traceable thanks to their unique batch codes printed on each bar.
Nestlé has decided not to disclose the exact location from where the truck disappeared.
