It’s going to be really hard to refrain from asking “Where’s the beef?” in this post. Shoot, too late. The meat in this case was allegedly loaded up and taken out of a grocery store in Massachusetts, resulting in a haul of $450 worth of food. Someone’s either planning a killer cookout, or the meat business is getting lucrative.

WBZ-TV in Boston says the alleged perpetrators were caught on surveillance tape at a Stop & Shop, loading up on meat, leaving the case almost bare. One man even walked out of the store with his pilfered products and a nice big grin.

“They grabbed steaks, filets, roasts, pretty much anything in the case,” says the Westboro Police Chief. “They pretty much wiped out what was in the case walked out of the store, very brazen.”

The 28-year-old man caught on tape is known to police, and according to cops, is part of a crew that pulls off other crimes in the area to support drug habits. Police say they are selling the meat and other ill-gotten gains for cash.

Cops think another man is showing his gang how it’s done, and that he’s to blame for a slew of other robberies.

“He’s basically showing these people the ropes of what he’s learned but not mastered over the years,” says the police chief. “He’s committed many crimes, stealing purses from women in choir practice, house breaks.”

The men headed straight to a getaway car driven by a 68-year-old accomplice, say police. Four men have been charged with the series of crimes.

Dishwasher Danger: Is yours safe? [WBZ-TV]

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