Man who stole 200,000 chocolate eggs jailed

The man, who police called the “Easter Bunny”, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing 200,000 chocolate eggs.

On Feb. 11, Joby Poole, 32, stole £31,000 ($40,000) worth of Cadbury Creme Eggs after breaking into an industrial plant and fleeing with the trophy in a stolen truck, PA Media news agency reported.

Milk chocolate eggs filled with yellow and white fudge “yolk” have a cult following in the UK and are sold exclusively around Easter.

Cadbury, owned by US food company Mondelez International, told CNN it sells 220 million cream eggs in the UK each year.

According to PA, Poole was jailed by Judge Anthony Lowe for a year and a half at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Thursday. Half of that amount is to be spent in jail and the other half on license, with his previous six months of detention counting towards his time behind bars.

Poole previously pleaded guilty to theft, causing damage and driving without insurance.

The court learned that Poole used a stolen tractor to tow a trailer full of eggs from an industrial plant, PA reports.

At an earlier court hearing, Poole’s then attorney John McMillan told the court, “He stopped the car when he realized he was being followed. He realized the game was up – he realized the police were behind him and stopped when it was safe to do so.”

Macmillan added, “He didn’t put up any resistance and then they arrested him.”

On Twitter following the arrest, West Mercian Police claimed they “helped save Easter for Creme Egg fans”, calling the incident “trauma egg theft”.