Thieves who stole more than 400,000 KitKat bars have sparked mayhem ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend, with the heist potentially leading to a shortage of the beloved chocolate on supermarket shelves
Mere days before Easter, and chocolate lovers have been dealt a very bitter blow indeed, with thieves pinching more than 400,000 KitKats from a truck in a brazen heist.
The unsavoury crime unfolded in Switzerland, with the crooks targeting a truck as it made the journey from central Italy to Poland, distributing the much-loved bars along the route through Europe. To the dismay of chocoholics eagerly looking ahead to the Easter weekend, food and beverage giant Nestlé has warned that this “may lead to a shortage of KitKats appearing on shelves, which is why consumers, unfortunately, may struggle to find their favourite chocolates ahead of Easter.”
Meanwhile, a KitKat spokesperson this week quipped: “We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KITKAT – but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tonnes of our chocolate,”
READ MORE: We tried dozens of Easter eggs – and £6 supermarket one beat the lotThey continued: “Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes. With more sophisticated schemes being deployed on a regular basis, we have chosen to go public with our own experience in the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend.”
At the time of writing, the band of sweet-toothed highwaymen remain unaccounted for, as does their loot, and the vehicle in question. Nestlé has not shared exactly where the truck was lost. It’s believed the stolen chocolate could well enter unofficial sales channels across Europe, but the company hasd not yet lost hope of tracking it down.
In a statement, KitKat revealed that the missing bars are, in fact, traceable using a unique batch code. Individuals who end up scanning these tell-tale batch numbers will be instructed on how to contact KitKat. According to Nestlé: “If a match is found, the scanner will be given clear instructions on how to alert KITKAT, who will then share the evidence appropriately.”
This follows a joint report published just last month by the International Union of Marine Insurance and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA, outlining a worrying rise in cargo theft and freight fraud. With thieves using increasingly sophisticated ways to deceive. And it’s feared that the dawn of AI will only ramp up the situation, which has already led to eyewatering financial losses.
According to this report, almost 160,000 cargo-related crimes were reported across 129 countries between 2022 and 2024, with total estimated losses reaching several billion Euros. Explaining the situation in a statement, Thorsten Neumann, President & CEO of TAPA EMEA, said: “Although conventional theft from trucks and warehouses is still prevalent, cargo crime is evolving. We are seeing criminals using digital tools to conceal their true identities, the creation of shell companies and legitimate firms being cloned using stolen credentials. Forged email addresses, look-alike domains and fake insurance certificates are increasingly common. Our concern is that artificial intelligence will accelerate these activities, making deception easier to scale and significantly driving up losses.”
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