Two tonnes of frozen shrimp were stolen from the processing plant Meleyri in Hvammstangi over the weekend. The shrimp heist was discovered on Saturday morning, and is believed to be well-planned. The police are investigating, and have already reviewed security camera footage, RÚV reports.
According to Baldvin Þór Bergþórsson, project manager of the shrimp processing plant, the estimated value of the shrimp is between five and six million ISK. He told Morgunblaðið that he cannot imagine how the thieves intend to sell the stolen shrimp. “It was all frozen, so there must be someone behind this who has good storage,” he said.
Stefán Vagn Stefánsson, chief of police in Northwest Iceland, said in an interview with Morgunblaðið that it is clear that the thieves knew how to work together. Although it is impossible to say for sure, Stefán considers it unlikely that the thieves intended the shrimp for private use.
“You do not put two tonnes of shrimp in the family car and drive away. You need a means of transport, a place of storage, and a buyer,” Stefán said.
This heist has similar earmarks to another heist that took place two years ago. At that time, hundreds of kilos of langoustine were stolen from Humarsalan. Whether these are the same thieves or not is uncertain at this time, but as ever, the public is urged not to buy black market shrimp.
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