Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has warned his 10.5 million Instagram followers to be on the lookout for 22 tons of award-winning artisanal cheddar cheese that was stolen as part of an elaborate scam. Con artists posing as legitimate French wholesale distributors “bought” more than 950 wheels of cloth-wrapped cheese from London-based Neal’s Yard Dairy, the company said in a statement on Instagram. By the time the retailer realized the purchase was a fraud, about $390,000 worth of cheese was gone—likely to be sold in Russia or the Middle East, the BBC reported. London’s Metropolitan Police are working with international law enforcement to investigate the theft. Oliver posted a video to Instagram explaining that only a handful of cheese makers produce authentic cheddar, which is named for the village in southwest England where it originated. The stolen cheeses were some of the “best cheddar in the world,” he said in the video, adding, “If anybody hears anything about lorry loads of very posh cheese,” it’s probably the thieves. Oliver further urged buyers to be suspicious of large amounts of premium cheddar going for cheap. “If the deal seems too gouda be true, it probably is!” he wrote. “Let’s find these cheese stealers.”
