Restaurant owner tracks down stolen brie by hiding AirTag in wheel of cheese

The ingenious trap involved carefully concealing the coin-sized tracking device inside a £10 wheel of brie, allowing Straker to monitor its journey for three weeks until it came to rest in Knaresborough on Christmas Eve.

After purchasing the brie, Straker carefully unwrapped the cheese and inserted the AirTag before resealing the package.

The baited cheese was left in the storage box overnight, with the regular delivery driver instructed not to touch it during his morning rounds.

As anticipated, CCTV captured a hooded figure taking the brie from the unlocked box at 7:25am on Friday 6 December.

The Apple tracking device emitted a Bluetooth signal that was picked up by nearby phones, enabling Straker to follow the cheese's location on his mobile phone map.

Over the following three weeks, Straker monitored his stolen brie as it travelled to various locations across Yorkshire.

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The cheese was moved between different addresses in Harrogate and neighbouring Knaresborough, while also making appearances in Otley and Menston, West Yorkshire.

"I think it has been driven around in a van," Straker told reporters. "It has been moving around so much I decided to wait until it had stopped before reporting it to the police."

The tracking operation was complicated by the busy festive period at his restaurant, leaving Straker with limited time to pursue the investigation.

At one point, the brie appeared to settle at a property in Harrogate, prompting Straker to consider confronting the occupants.

"There were mattresses outside and a strong smell of a certain substance coming from the house and I thought 'no this is not a good idea' and decided to leave it," he said.

The tracking device has remained stationary since Christmas Eve, suggesting the brie, or at least the AirTag, ended up in a commercial bin in Knaresborough, five miles from his restaurant.

"I feel bad saying it but I don't have great expectations of the police," Straker admitted, though he plans to submit his evidence to authorities.

Straker has since installed a properly locked and secured container for deliveries, which has prevented further thefts.

The restaurant owner estimates he has lost hundreds of pounds worth of goods in recent months to the thieves.

"The cost of our food is going up, the cost of our utilities is going up and it's getting harder and harder to run a business, so just little things like that do contribute as our margins are shrinking," he explained.

In a message to customers on his website, Straker wrote: "Next time you see a suspicious cyclist with a backpack full of dairy, spare a thought for us and our lost Brie. And remember: crime might pay, but cheese always costs."