Thieves hijack truck carrying 12 tons of KitKats
Heist could mean Easter chocolate shortage but bosses hope unique batch codes will see culprits fingered
More than 400,000 KitKats have been stolen after a truck transporting the chocolate bars across Europe was hijacked.
The shipment, weighing approximately 12 tons, disappeared last week while travelling between a production site in central Italy and a distribution depot in Poland.
Nestlé, KitKat’s parent company, has warned that “the theft may lead to a shortage of KitKats appearing on the shelf”, acknowledging that “consumers, unfortunately, may struggle to find their favourite chocolates ahead of Easter”.
Thieves are believed to be in possession of the 413,793 bars and the company does not know where on the 800-mile route the hijackers struck.
A spokesman for KitKat said: “All we know at this stage is that the incident took place last week as the truck was en route from central Italy with a final destination in Poland. The vehicle and its content remain unaccounted for.”
A KitKat chocolate bar
Kitkat bosses said that shoppers may struggle to find the chocolate bars ahead of EasterCredit: Martin Cleaver
It is understood the truck was planning to distribute the bars in Austria and Czech Republic along the route before arriving in eastern Europe.
The company added that the confectionery could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets, but that this could help trace the thieves, given that a unique batch code is assigned to each bar.
Nestlé said: “As a result, consumers, retailers and wholesalers will be able to identify if a product is part of the stolen shipment by scanning the on-pack batch numbers.
“If a match is found, the scanner will be given clear instructions on how to alert KitKat, who will then share the evidence appropriately.”
Rise in cargo theft
Nestlé, which also makes household food brands such as Nescafé and Cheerios and employs 277,000 workers in countries across the world, said it will continue to support the investigation and provide further updates to consumers and retailers as appropriate.
It added that the theft came shortly after a joint report from industry representatives, which outlined a rise in cargo theft and freight fraud, with more sophisticated methods of deception becoming increasingly common.
In 2023, around 55,000 Japanese KitKats – in flavours such as matcha latte, melon and daifuku mochi – were hijacked after a business fell victim to a strategic theft scam.
Bokksu, a company run by Danny Taing, a businessman, offers rare Japanese snacks as part of a subscription box for customers.
But an order of $110,000 (£83,000) worth of KitKats was stolen by thieves using a fake carrier identity while en route from Japan to New Jersey.
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/28/thieves-hijack-truck-12-tons-kitkats
More than 400,000 KitKats have been stolen after a truck transporting the chocolate bars across Europe was hijacked.
The shipment, weighing approximately 12 tons, disappeared last week while travelling between a production site in central Italy and a distribution depot in Poland.
Nestlé, KitKat’s parent company, has warned that “the theft may lead to a shortage of KitKats appearing on the shelf”, acknowledging that “consumers, unfortunately, may struggle to find their favourite chocolates ahead of Easter”.
Thieves are believed to be in possession of the 413,793 bars and the company does not know where on the 800-mile route the hijackers struck.
A spokesman for KitKat said: “All we know at this stage is that the incident took place last week as the truck was en route from central Italy with a final destination in Poland. The vehicle and its content remain unaccounted for.”
A KitKat chocolate bar
Kitkat bosses said that shoppers may struggle to find the chocolate bars ahead of EasterCredit: Martin Cleaver
It is understood the truck was planning to distribute the bars in Austria and Czech Republic along the route before arriving in eastern Europe.
The company added that the confectionery could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets, but that this could help trace the thieves, given that a unique batch code is assigned to each bar.
Nestlé said: “As a result, consumers, retailers and wholesalers will be able to identify if a product is part of the stolen shipment by scanning the on-pack batch numbers.
“If a match is found, the scanner will be given clear instructions on how to alert KitKat, who will then share the evidence appropriately.”
Rise in cargo theft
Nestlé, which also makes household food brands such as Nescafé and Cheerios and employs 277,000 workers in countries across the world, said it will continue to support the investigation and provide further updates to consumers and retailers as appropriate.
It added that the theft came shortly after a joint report from industry representatives, which outlined a rise in cargo theft and freight fraud, with more sophisticated methods of deception becoming increasingly common.
In 2023, around 55,000 Japanese KitKats – in flavours such as matcha latte, melon and daifuku mochi – were hijacked after a business fell victim to a strategic theft scam.
Bokksu, a company run by Danny Taing, a businessman, offers rare Japanese snacks as part of a subscription box for customers.
But an order of $110,000 (£83,000) worth of KitKats was stolen by thieves using a fake carrier identity while en route from Japan to New Jersey.
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/28/thieves-hijack-truck-12-tons-kitkats
