Bizarre crime uncovered: 'Easter Bunny' thief steals an astonishing 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs
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Ah, Easter — is there anything better than heading to the shops in anticipation of getting your hands on a Cadbury Creme Egg? We absolutely love this divine chocolate treat that we get to enjoy for a limited time each year.
The chocolatey goodness of the egg combined with the creamy, gooey filling is heaven in a (decadent) Easter egg. And let's not forget the classic red, purple and yellow wrappers! It’s hard to find packaging as iconic as this.
But imagine you're planning on grabbing a couple of these treats for yourself this Easter only to find that almost every Cadbury Creme Egg has disappeared from shelves.
Where did all the chocolate eggs go?
Would you believe us if we said someone resorted to stealing an entire trailer load of them?
You read that right, folks! Almost 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs were stolen and hauled away in a trailer by a thief in a bizarre Easter-themed heist.
The suspect behind the bizarre act — Joby Pool, 32, — used a large vehicle disguised as a Ministry of Transport van to drive up and remove the £32,000-worth (approximately $55,998) load of Cadbury treats in an industrial area in Telford, England.
It was reported that he used a metal grinder to break down the gate of the premise before stealing the Easter eggs.
'I don't know if you have seen the news recently - there was a load that was stolen and on the trailer was Cadbury's products - a large number of Creme Eggs,' West Mercia Police prosecutor Owen Beale said of the incident.
'The police were told there had been a break-in at SW Logistics. A grinder had been used to get through the gate.'
Pool — whose truck was dubbed 'the Easter bunny' by West Mercia Police — is believed to be facing two years behind bars, according to the Guardian.
The van was spotted by the police on the M42, who then alerted the driver that they were coming up behind his vehicle, allowing the haulier, who was allegedly mindful of being monitored the whole time, to pull over and surrender.
'He gave up at junction 11 and walked towards the police with his hands up. He was arrested and the load was recovered.
'This clearly wasn't spur-of-the-moment offending, if I can put it like that because he had taken with him a tractor unit and he had to know that the load was there in the first place.
'It's clearly a leading role and it's clearly significant planning.'
Pool, from West Yorkshire, had previously found himself in trouble with the law in 2019 after he was convicted of a similar offence, handling stolen goods and driving while disqualified.
According to the court, Pool is out of the magistrate's reach and might face a sentence of two years.
'It's going to be well outside your powers of sentence,' Beale said.
'This is clearly an organised criminal matter. You don't just happen to learn about a trailer with that kind of value being available.'
Pool is set to be sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on March 14.
It’s a truly bizarre scenario. We still do not know what Pool's motive is for stealing such an unlikely item but thankfully, West Mercia Police have recovered the treats.
And, who knows, with this incident, you may be more likely to actually get your hands on some Creme Eggs this Easter – now that all the loot has been safely returned to the suppliers!
Is this the weirdest crime you’ve ever heard of? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
The chocolatey goodness of the egg combined with the creamy, gooey filling is heaven in a (decadent) Easter egg. And let's not forget the classic red, purple and yellow wrappers! It’s hard to find packaging as iconic as this.
But imagine you're planning on grabbing a couple of these treats for yourself this Easter only to find that almost every Cadbury Creme Egg has disappeared from shelves.
Where did all the chocolate eggs go?
Would you believe us if we said someone resorted to stealing an entire trailer load of them?
You read that right, folks! Almost 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs were stolen and hauled away in a trailer by a thief in a bizarre Easter-themed heist.
An 'Easter Bunny' thief nabbed hundreds of thousands of Cadbury Creme Eggs ahead of Easter. Credit: Tony Kyriacou/REX/Shutterstock.
The suspect behind the bizarre act — Joby Pool, 32, — used a large vehicle disguised as a Ministry of Transport van to drive up and remove the £32,000-worth (approximately $55,998) load of Cadbury treats in an industrial area in Telford, England.
It was reported that he used a metal grinder to break down the gate of the premise before stealing the Easter eggs.
'I don't know if you have seen the news recently - there was a load that was stolen and on the trailer was Cadbury's products - a large number of Creme Eggs,' West Mercia Police prosecutor Owen Beale said of the incident.
'The police were told there had been a break-in at SW Logistics. A grinder had been used to get through the gate.'
Pool — whose truck was dubbed 'the Easter bunny' by West Mercia Police — is believed to be facing two years behind bars, according to the Guardian.
The van was spotted by the police on the M42, who then alerted the driver that they were coming up behind his vehicle, allowing the haulier, who was allegedly mindful of being monitored the whole time, to pull over and surrender.
'He gave up at junction 11 and walked towards the police with his hands up. He was arrested and the load was recovered.
'This clearly wasn't spur-of-the-moment offending, if I can put it like that because he had taken with him a tractor unit and he had to know that the load was there in the first place.
'It's clearly a leading role and it's clearly significant planning.'
Pool, from West Yorkshire, had previously found himself in trouble with the law in 2019 after he was convicted of a similar offence, handling stolen goods and driving while disqualified.
According to the court, Pool is out of the magistrate's reach and might face a sentence of two years.
'It's going to be well outside your powers of sentence,' Beale said.
'This is clearly an organised criminal matter. You don't just happen to learn about a trailer with that kind of value being available.'
Pool is set to be sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on March 14.
It’s a truly bizarre scenario. We still do not know what Pool's motive is for stealing such an unlikely item but thankfully, West Mercia Police have recovered the treats.
And, who knows, with this incident, you may be more likely to actually get your hands on some Creme Eggs this Easter – now that all the loot has been safely returned to the suppliers!
Is this the weirdest crime you’ve ever heard of? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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