Give me a break: 12 tons of KitKat candy bars stolen in Europe

Officials said 12 tons of KitKat chocolate bars were stolen from a truck that was transporting the candy from central Italy to Poland.
Stolen: Officials said 12 tons of KitKat chocolate bars were stolen from a truck that was transporting the candy from Italy to Poland. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

VEVEY, Switzerland — It looks as if some thieves had a very large sweet tooth. And consumers in Europe could be forgiven for muttering “Give me a break.”

Twelve tons of KitKat chocolate bars were stolen last week after thieves hijacked the truck transporting the sweet treats from the company’s production site in central Italy, Reuters reported.

In a statement issued Friday, Swiss food giant Nestlé said that 413,793 of the crunchy candy bars, made of waffles and covered with chocolate, were taken from the truck, which was bound for Poland, according to The Associated Press.

“The vehicle and its load are still nowhere to be found,” Nestlé said.

In a statement, a Nestlé spokesperson said that the thieves had taken the company’s slogan “too literally.”

“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 tons of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said. “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.”

KitKat said that the missing bars can be traced with a unique batch code, Reuters reported. Consumers scanning the batch numbers of the pilfered chocolate would receive instructions to contact the company.

The company added that there was no risk tied to the stolen product, although it could appear on unofficial sales channels across the European continent, Fox Business reported.

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