Thieves steal 100,000 eggs amid national shortage and skyrocketing prices
Thieves steal 100,000 eggs amid national shortage and skyrocketing prices
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Thieves made off with 100,000 of one the most prized items in the US at the moment – eggs. The crooks stole more than $40,000 worth of organic eggs from a wholesaler warehouse in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, as prices for the product skyrocket amid a national shortage caused by the bird flu. ‘This is a major felony, given the value of what was taken,’ said state Trooper Megan Frazer of the incident that unfolded over the weekend.
![[Eggs are for sale at a grocery store in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, on Sunday, January 19, 2025, as bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEI_238685549-75e9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘The thieves could sell them or even use them for vandalizing purposes. ‘We don’t know what purpose of stealing 100,000 would be for at this time. With the extreme increased price of eggs, someone may have thought they could sell them.’. It is the first time in her dozen years on duty that eggs have been stolen, to her knowledge. ‘The only thing close was 10 years ago when someone stole a trailer full of chickens,’ Frazer said.
![[A customer picks up a dozen eggs to buy in a Giant grocery store in McLean, Virginia on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEI_238696875-c519.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Unidentified thieves broke into a trailer at Pete and Gerry’s Organics warehouse just before 9pm on Saturday, according to police. The warehouse is located roughly 65 miles southwest of the state capital of Harrisburg and 170 miles west of Philadelphia. Eggs cost over 50% more than last year, per a US Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index report released on Friday. The average cost reached $5.29 for a dozen eggs in late January, according to an NIQ consumer research group. About a year prior to that, the price for a dozen eggs was about $3.50.
![[In spite of shortages created by the avian flu, the refrigerated case for displaying cartons of eggs is well stocked in a Walmart store Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SEI_237727980-0ea9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Beyond grocery stores, customers are experiencing the price hike at restaurants. The famous breakfast chain Waffle House which serves more than 272million eggs annually has implemented a surcharge of 50 cents for each one ordered. Up to 17.2million hens have died due to the bird flu. There are no leads on the crime and authorities are asking for the public’s help to find the thieves. ‘This egg theft incident,’ Frazer told The New York Times, ‘Is definitely unusual and has gained national attention.’.
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