Police have launched an investigation after an Irn-Bru lorry containing more than 41,000 bottles was stolen from a depot in Cumbernauld, Scotland. The bright orange vehicle was loaded with 22 tonnes of the drink when it was taken from one of Irn-Bru's partner facilities on Little Drum Road on the evening of September 27.
Lorry spotted in Cumbria
The lorry was later spotted on CCTV driving south of the border before being sighted in Cumbria. The soft drink giant says the "Bru-bandits" have made off with a haul worth £30,000, consisting of 26 pallets of 500ml bottles of Regular and Zero - adding up to 41,184 bottles in total.
Irn-Bru's 125th anniversary
The theft comes as Irn-Bru has been celebrating iconic ads for its 125th anniversary - including the famous Electric Lady, which sees a gran ram-raid a newsagents with a mobility scooter to get her hands on the drink. Irn-Bru says early indications suggest an elderly woman on a mobility scooter was not responsible this time around.
Appeal for information
Irn-Bru has branded it the "Great Girder Mystery" and asked people to keep an eye out for unexplained amounts of their drink appearing across the country. Kenny Nicholson, Brand Director at IRN-BRU, said: "It was an interesting decision by the robbers, it's not like a bright coloured IRN-BRU truck is easy to hide. We think they've forgotten just how recognised IRN-BRU is - even in England.
"We appreciate their great taste but it's really not on, we hope they are caught 'orange handed' soon, with Police Scotland's finest on the case. The next line of enquiry must be 'where the truck do you hide 41,000 bottles of BRU?' If you have spotted anything suspicious, anyone with an unusually high stock of BRU, please get in touch with Police Scotland."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Enquiries are ongoing into the reported theft of a trailer, containing pallets of soft drink bottles, from a premises on Little Drum Road, Cumbernauld, which happened shortly before 6pm on Sunday, 27 September, 2026. Anyone with information should report this to us via 101, quoting reference number 1461 of 28 September 2026."
