Criminals stole about 200 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano from the Pieve Roffeno cooperative cheese factory in the Bologna region, causing damage of more than 100,000 euros. An initial count put the loss at least 191 wheels, each weighing about 42 kilograms.
The burglars arrived around eight in the evening after workers had left and entered an empty warehouse where the cheese wheels were aged. Over nearly six hours, they moved the wheels on wheeled platforms and loaded them into two delivery vans. Both vehicles used in the theft were later found to have been stolen. They broke in through a back door at a steep point the owners did not think could be accessed and used a makeshift ladder, according to investigators.
Authorities said the group targeted high-value stock and appeared to specialize in high-end food thefts. “The precision and efficiency of the operation indicate an experienced and well-organized group,” said investigators, according to Wprost. Similar thefts occurred in the Emilia-Romagna region in previous years, including in the provinces of Modena and Parma. Between 2015 and 2019, more than 2,000 wheels were stolen from local dairies, with a total value of about 150,000 euros, according to Wprost.
“In the 60-year history of our company, nothing like this happened before,” said Dario Zappoli, the president of the cheese factory, according to Israel Hayom. “They stole cheese of great value; only that which had been aged for a long time. They knew exactly what they were doing,” said Zappoli, according to TVN24. “Everything looked well planned—from the route of entry to the organization of the removal,” said Zappoli, according to Newsam.
In the aftermath of the theft, the dairy staff installed new alarm systems and additional cameras, and employees volunteered to conduct night patrols until the upgrades were completed. The Carabinieri secured surveillance footage and focused on interviewing witnesses. Italian trade unions called on the government to grant tax breaks to small dairies for installing gates with alarms and GPS-equipped pallets, technologies already common in the meat and wine industries. The thieves planned every detail of the operation, according to Il Resto del Carlino.
The cooperative hoped insurance would partially compensate the damage. “We hope the insurance will help us. It will take at least two years to restore the matured cheese stock,” said Zappoli, according to Newsam.
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.