Despite the fact that we’re never going to run out of toilet paper anytime soon, there seems to be a mass panic buying spree. Of all the things people are panic buying, this is one of the most perplexing. After all, even if you were to get sick, uncontrollable diarrhea isn’t really one of the symptoms. However, that hasn’t stopped people from clearing shelves. One person even went so far as theft, with North Carolina police intercepting a truck full of 18,000 pounds of stolen toilet paper.
- That’s a whole lot of toilet paper. The 53-foot, 18-wheel truck was intercepted by officers with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office who believed the truck was stolen. The AP reports that the officers followed the driver to a warehouse, where they determined the truck was full of 18,000 worth of stolen toilet paper as well as paper towels and other commercial products.
- The contents of the truck itself were actually totally legit. According to Capt. Daryl Loftis, the truck and the toilet paper and other products in it were described as “legitimate cargo going to a legitimate place.” It was headed to Greensboro, North Carolina before it was stolen by greedy thieves who likely thought they could turn a profit.
- No arrests have been made so far. While you would think this is a fairly open-shut case, the driver, while a suspect in the case of the stolen toilet paper, hasn’t actually been arrested for the crime. Police are also holding back on releasing his name given that TP is a “fairly sensitive issues” right now and they still need to get to the bottom (no pun intended) of what’s going on.
- This couldn’t have come at a worse time. Regardless of the fact that we know toilet paper isn’t going to ever go out of stock, at least in the Western world, for any long period of time, the fact is that those who have been bulk buying have left little available for the elderly and other vulnerable groups. Having supplies get stolen like this just makes a bad situation even worse. We all need to come together here!
