US teen arrested for stealing $20m worth of J'can cheese

An American youngster is now facing possible prison time after being accused of stealing more than $20.5 million worth of Jamaican Tastee cheese from a warehouse in Moonachie, New Jersey.

Eighteen-year-old Darluis Ortiz was arrested this week and slapped with charges of theft, burglary, conspiracy, and possessing burglary tools, according to NBC New York.

When the accused cheese thief appeared in court on Thursday, prosecutors alleged that he stole pallets of Tastee cheese products valued at US$160,000 (or just over J $20.5 million) on September 23. It then took investigators two weeks to track him down.

Ortiz, who was being held in the Bergen County jail, was offered bail at US$150,000 (J$19.2 million).