Nutella robberies spread as German gang steals 20 tonnes of chocolate worth €70,000

A gang in Germany may have ended up with more than they bargained for after stealing 20 tonnes of Nutella and the trailer it was stored in.

Police are seeking witnesses after thousands of tubs of the spread and other chocolate treats were taken along with a refrigerated trailer used to keep the confectionery cool.

Police spokesman Martin Ahlich said the trailer contained 20 metric tons of chocolate including Kinder Surprise eggs, Nutella hazelnut-chocolate cream and Valparaiso chocolate fruit pearls, reported the Associated Press.

The theft happened in the Hesse town of Neustadt at the weekend and such is the size of the haul, which has been valued at around €70,000 (£64,200), it is thought that the thieves used a truck.

"It's not even clear if they were after the sweets or after the trailer, at this point we don't know what their motive was," Ahlich said.

It is not the first time thieves in Germany have let their sweet tooth get the better of them. In 2013, 5.5 tonnes of the chocolate-hazelnut spread was stolen in similar circumstances, but that time thieves took the time to remove the jars from a parked trailer in the central German town of Bad Hersfeld. The haul was worth around €16,000.

The location seemed to be favourite for criminals after a truckload of Red Bull had been stolen from the same place just weeks before and around $40,000 (€34,000) worth of coffee was taken in a previous hit.