Dharm Makwana

A man stood at the dairy display of a west-side grocery store and casually placed a brick of cheese into his basket - and then another, and another, and another.

In the blink of the eye, the basket was brimming with the orangey gold. Taking his pungent plunder to the vacant household goods isle, he quickly stuffed it into a rolling briefcase. With his stash secure, the man headed back for more. This time, however, a security guard stepped in to stop the bold caper.

Though it was unclear where the loot was bound, artisan cheese shop owner Allison Spurrell of Les Amis du Fromage had her suspicions. Apparently, cheese thievery is part of Vancouver's culture.

"I live in the Downtown Eastside and it's pretty common to see people hocking cheese all over the place," she said. "You used to be able to buy cheese at the American Hotel three or four years ago.

"That was the joke, that you could go in there and expect to buy watches but instead it's people selling bricks of cheese."

Vancouver police Const. Lindsey Hougton said such crimes have always been around and will likely continue.

"Calling it a criminal operation is giving it too much credit," he said, trying to put it into perspective. "There are people out there who are out taking advantage of people who are drug addicted."

In December 2009, Vancouver police announced Project Larceny, targeting petty crime. The crackdown resulted in 31 arrests in 29 days, with offenders specializing in the theft of meats and cheese, chocolate and ice cream, clothing and shoes.

"Everybody is buying this stuff," Houghton said. "If people didn't buy it, there wouldn't be a market for someone to go out and take it."