A HUGE 12-ton shipment of KitKat bars has been stolen in a major chocolate heist, sparking fears of an Easter shortage.
KitKat, owned by Swiss food giant Nestle, said 413,793 bars of its latest crunch range was snatched during transit.
A 12-tonne shipment of KitKat bars was stolen in a major chocolate heistCredit: Alamy
The shock theft has cut a chunk out of KitKat supplies ahead of Easter, the company warnedCredit: PA
“We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with ,” a spokesperson said.
“But it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate.”
The stolen truck left a factory in central and was making its way to when it was nicked.
Both the truck and its contents remain unaccounted for.
“Investigations are ongoing in close collaboration with local authorities and supply chain partners,” Nestle said.
The company warned that the shock theft has cut a chunk out of its supplies ahead of .
Now buyers may struggle to find their favourite chocolates due to a devastating shortage of supplies on shelves.
Following the heist, the company said the stolen chocolate bars “could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets”.
The bars can be traced by scanning the unique batch codes found on each wrapper.
But this means the thieves will have to distribute their stolen bounty through illicit channels to be resold before they can be found.
“If a match is found, the scanner will be given clear instructions on how to alert KitKat who will then share the evidence appropriately,” Nestle said.
This is not the first time KitKat has been the victim of an elaborate cargo theft.
About $250,000 worth of the chocolate wafer candies were held hostage three years ago.
The shipment of 55,000 Kit Kats from Japan included rare flavours like melon, matcha latte, and daifuku mochi.
The precious sweets landed safely in California and were trucked about 30 miles across Los Angeles County to a temporary storage facility in South El Monte.
But they failed to make the remaining leg of their journey to Bokksu’s warehouse in Carlstadt, New Jersey.
The Kit Kats never left California, but had been driven 30 miles east, put on ice and left to rack up storage fees in a bizarre plot by scammers.
The outstanding balance for the storage was around £2,800.
Swiss food giant Nestle, KitKat owner, said an investigation into the theft was underwayCredit: AFP 
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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