Ice Cream Thieves Scooping up Cartons to Resell on the Cheap

To the ice cream thieves sweeping Manhattan: You better watch your dairy-eres.

People are stealing so much ice cream in Manhattan grocery stores that there is now a $5,000 award for information on the dessert thefts, put out by the billionaire CEO of Gristedes supermarkets, John Catsimatidis, the New York Post reported.

The point of stealing ice cream is not just because it tastes good. Thieves steal the ice cream to resell it to bodegas on the cheap, who then sell the ice cream illegally, police sources told the Post.

This is not only illegal but creates a potential health hazard for people who buy their ice cream from bodegas because it will often sit out in the heat for a while between the fridges that house it, according to the Post.

Just Tuesday, two men tried to steal approximately 80 cartons of ice cream from the Gristedes on Ninth Avenue, but workers stopped them in their tracks.

This is not just a Chelsea problem. There have been more than 250 complaints just this year for specifically ice cream thefts, and 130 arrests made, the Post reported.

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