Watch: CCTV footage shows moment shipping container found dumped in Yorkshire was stolen

The container, which contained more than 27,000 items belonging to the Huski drinkware company worth around £1m, was stolen from a haulage yard in Southampton after being shipped to Southampton dock.

The heist happened on June 5, and the empty shipping container was found dumped in Doncaster the day after.

Huski said police information provided to the firm following the theft included the thieves switching numberplates on the stolen vehicle used to tow the container.

The stolen stock includes thousands of insulated wine tumblers, champagne flutes, wine coolers, beer coolers and champagne coolers.

Huski co-founder Simon Huesser said: “What still doesn’t make sense is how targeted it appears. This wasn’t a smash-and-grab.

“Whoever did it knew how to get in, move a full container, stay ahead of the cameras and number-plate recognition, and get the stock hundreds of miles away.

“We were told police had even questioned whether the thieves may have had prior knowledge of the site or shipment, although there is no evidence of that at this stage.

“The problem is they just don’t have any leads. They’re like, ‘This is a professional job.’ It’s so professional, it’s in and out in six minutes, and they changed the number plates 10 times.

“The real mystery is what happened next, how thousands of wine and beer coolers simply disappeared into the market.

“Now that products are surfacing online through a large number of different sellers, it suggests someone either had a plan for moving the stock from the outset or worked one out very quickly. That is the part we still can’t explain.”

Huski believes the items which were stolen are being sold online and could catch out unsuspecting customers looking for Christmas presents - not realising they could be buying stolen items.

The company has identified more than 540 listings from over 120 sellers across platforms including eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Whatnot and Vinted, and has had more than 500 removed.

It is also thought West Yorkshire Police is investigating similar offences in its own force area which may be linked to the Southampton theft.

The Yorkshire Post contacted Hampshire Police, South Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police for a statement relating to the theft and subsequent investigations, but each force suggested we contact the others.

But the company said it has been provided information police which said officers have visited sellers, with two reportedly telling them they had bought the products at a car boot sale.