Who Stole the Cheese? $160,000 Worth of Cheese Stolen in Wisconsin

Wisconsin police said a 54-foot long semi-trailer containing cheese product was stolen shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Friday from D and G Transportation in Germantown. The trailer was carrying about $70,000 worth of cheese.

The incident was the second cheese-related theft of the week, according to NBC affiliate WTMJ. Nearly $90,000 worth of Parmesan went missing from a logistics or storage facility  in Marshfield just days before Friday’s robbery, Lt. Darren Larson told the station. This occurred less than 200 miles away from Friday’s incident.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that no one has been charged as of yet.  Germantown police state on their Facebook page that a semi-trailer used to steal the cheese was recovered in the Milwaukee area about 10 hours after it disappeared but the cheese was missing. The trailer was located by someone who had seen the online plea. “We have recovered the trailer, minus the cheese,” Lt. Todd Grenier told WTMJ. “This was not a one or two-person job.”

The $160,000 worth of cheese is likely to go to waste unless it is eaten. The cheese was sealed inside the truck, and when the thieves opened the truck, they broke the seal, rendering the cheese unlawful for sale, according to federal law, CBS58 reported.

No arrests have been made in connection with the theft, according to a post on the Germantown Police Department Facebook page.

In 2013, about 42,000 pounds of Wisconsin Muenster cheese manufactured by K & K / Old Country Cheese Factory was stolen from Pasture Pride Cheese in Cashton. It was worth about $200,000.

In that case, Veniamin Balika, 34, of Plainfield, Ill., was caught driving a 18-wheeler at the Vince Lombardi Service Area off the New Jersey State Turnpike.

According to an article on Time magazine, Balika allegedly used false paperwork to con a distributor in Cashton, Wis., into loading his truck with the large cheese shipment.  The cheese was originally intended for a Texas destination.