Saanich police are searching for a man who allegedly stole a wheel of cheese worth $600 from a local grocery store on the afternoon of April 20.
The theft involved a wheel of gouda cheese and happened around 4 p.m. in the 3500 block of Blanshard Street in Saanich, according to police in a statement to CHEK News.
“This is a unique theft and more perplexing than anything else, but it’s a high-dollar theft,” said Const. Markus Anastasiades. “Thefts at grocery stores don’t usually accumulate this high.”
Those in the business say cheese is a popular snatch-and-grab target.
“A lot of times when you have loss prevention on, they’ll be checking the cheese displays, meat displays. Those are items that are easy to sell,” noted Shaun Erdei, a store manager at Country Grocer.
Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers is aware of the incident and poked fun on social media Monday, posting photos of the suspect and saying, “…police are sad that you didn’t include them on the invite list to the cheese party you were clearly hosting when you decided to steal the $600 Gouda wheel.
“Or were you going to eat the entire lot yourself?”
And while police say there hasn’t been a ‘string’ of cheese thefts locally, the goal for this wheel of gouda remains unclear.
“Until we identify the suspect, we won’t know the true meaning or reason they stole the wheel of cheese,” added Anastasiades in an interview.
Anyone with information about the alleged theft is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a tip online via its website.
“If you know who our charcuterie lover is please tell us, you will remain anonymous, of course, and they won’t,” read the Facebook post.
Ethan Morneau
