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12 Tons of KitKat Bars Vanish in European Truck Heist

Nestlé is relying on batch-code tracking plus police cooperation to recover the missing load.

Overview

  • A truck carrying 413,793 bars from a new KitKat range was reported stolen on March 26 while traveling from central Italy to Poland.
  • The vehicle and its cargo remain unaccounted for, and Nestlé says it is working with local authorities and supply-chain partners to investigate.
  • The company says there are no consumer-safety issues and says supply is not affected, after initial cautions that shoppers might see fewer bars before Easter.
  • Each bar has an on-pack batch code that lets retailers and consumers scan, verify if it matches the missing shipment, and send a report that Nestlé passes to investigators.
  • Industry groups IUMI and TAPA EMEA report nearly 160,000 cargo crimes from 2022 to 2024, highlighting a rise in sophisticated thefts that target goods in transit.