A series of high-value cheese thefts has been prompted by a thriving black market sparked by tough export sanctions against Russia, experts believe.

Hauls worth more than EUR 21,000 have disappeared from warehouses, apparently stolen by organised crime gangs for the secret Moscow market.

Russia has been hit with unprecedented sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, with Western products in short supply there.

And the latest in a string of cheese thefts in the Netherlands has hit one producer particularly hard.

More than 1,600 kilogrammes (3,527 lbs) of cheese worth over EUR 21,000 (USD 23,000; GBP 17,500) was stolen in the raid.

The victim is a dairy farm called Torenpolderkaas, in the town of Fijnaart, in the southern Dutch province of North Brabant.

The theft has reportedly set the farm back by six months in terms of production after all the cheese wheels maturing in storage were stolen.

And Theo Dekker, Chairman of dairy farmers organisation Bond van Boerderij-Zuiverlbereiders, thinks there could be a link with Russia.

Dekker said: “We will need better security for our cheeses from now on.”

He added: “This is not just a simple theft, it’s organised crime.”

Dekker added that the thieves tend to visit a targeted farm’s shop to conduct reconnaissance before returning a few days later to carry out their heist.

He empathised with the latest victim, saying: “It is of course never pleasant to have burglars in your yard.

“We know all too well how much craft is involved in the cheeses.”

And the cheeses often pop up on the black market in Eastern Europe, possibly before being sent further east.

Dekker said: “We have had reports of cheeses ending up in Russia where no Dutch dairy can be bought because of the economic sanctions.”

The stolen cheeses are all marked with a special code that makes them practically impossible to sell in the Netherlands.

Dekker said that in the past, amateur thieves had been arrested quickly thanks to the codes on the cheese wheels.

But he thinks that this latest theft is indicative of things to come.

He said: “But those were amateurs and cheese farmers are now up against something bigger.”

He added: “The number is pressed into the rind and cannot be removed without damaging the cheese.

“As a result, the thieves cannot sell the entire cheese in the Netherlands.

“But yes, if you cut off a piece, you will of course no longer see where the cheese comes from.”