Thieves Make off with Five Tons of Nutella in Germany

When that craving strikes, sometimes there's nothing you can do.

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eric / Reuters

When that craving strikes, sometimes there’s nothing you can do. At some point over this past weekend, a group of unidentified thieves broke into a parked trailer in central Germany and made off with more than five tons of Nutella, reported the Associated Press.

It is not yet clear how the chocolate-and-hazelnut heist was carried out. The culprits would have had to find a way to abscond with more than 6,500 jars of the stuff, according to some back-of-the-envelope calculations by The Atlantic Wire. The value of the pilfered condiment is believed to be about $20,000.

The Latin Times reported that the trailer was parked in an old railway station in the German spa town of Bad Hersfeld, and that Nutella is not the only food being stolen in bulk in the area. According to the English-language German news site The Local, a trailer-full of coffee and several tons of Red Bull went missing a few weeks ago in the same town.

So what can you do with 11,000 pounds of Nutella? The Atlantic Wire suspects it’ll be sold on the black market, considering the high cost of Nutella compared to other spreads and the possibility of a new tax on the chocolate in France.

It’s not just happening in Europe, either. At Columbia University in New York City, the school dining rooms are spending an estimated $6,000 a month on Nutella — prompting students and media outlets to speculate that some diners are walking off with more than their fair share, despite the university’s denials.