Massive mince heist in New Zealand

A Christchurch butcher has fallen victim to a massive mince heist. A man and a woman drove off with 100kg of beef mince from Westmeat meat suppliers after a new staff member loaded it into their car at about 3pm on Saturday.

The staff member thought the customer had paid for the haul. The theft was the latest in a string of thefts from Westmeat had suffered recently. Store manager Hayden Soper said the shop had been targeted by four organised criminals "virtually stealing to order" about four or five times, two months ago.



The thieves had made off with fillet steaks hidden beneath trenchcoats and in suitcases. But Soper suspected Saturday's theft was opportunist. He did not recognise the pair on the CCTV footage. "They didn't look rough", he said. The pair drove off with the loot in a grey late-model Subaru Impreza. Its registration was not visible on CCTV footage.

Soper wanted the image published so the pair could be identified and he could send them the bill. "Business is too hard to let 100kg of meat be taken from the store without paying for it," he said. The theft had been lodged with the police. A police communications centre spokesman said there did not appear to be any progress with the investigation.