Ice cream heist in Manhattan

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Someone stole dozens of cartons of ice cream on Tuesday from a Gristedes supermarket. Now the owner is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can lead police to the thieves.

Police said security camera images show a duo stealing ice cream at the Gristedes on 9th Avenue in Chelsea. The photo shows one of the thieves in action. The NYPD said it happened at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

John Catsimatidis, chair and CEO of Gristedes Foods, said the two stuffed 80 cartons of Haagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's ice cream into bags. He said it has been happening at many of his supermarkets for months now. He said the thieves resell the ice cream to bodegas and small groceries.

Ice cream theft is a problem in the city. So far this year there have been 250 complaints of ice cream thefts of which lead to 130 arrests, according to authorities. The NYPD told Fox 5 that it is working closely with the retailers to combat the thefts of ice cream.