More news about California dairy producers and BST – this time $30,000 worth of the product were stolen.

Surveillance video captured three thieves slipping onto E.J. deJong’s dairy farm under the cover of night, making their way past the cows in his milking parlor. They made quick work carting out their haul. In just one night, deJong lost about $30,000 worth of the genetically engineered hormone rBST, or recombinant bovine somatotropin, in what police say was one of the most brazen, high-value heists to date. The three suspects still haven’t been caught.

Rural crime officials say vials of rBST are a favorite among thieves who resell the growth hormone for top dollar on the black market. Fewer dairy farmers use it these days due to concerns over its health effects, and thefts have declined in recent years, but the sophistication and overall worth of the December break-in have alarmed authorities over the possibility of a larger hormone-peddling syndicate. Though DeJong was the first to catch it on video, similar heists have targeted farmers throughout the San Joaquin Valley. Some have been clandestine break-ins; others were inside jobs.