A black market for Spam in Hawaii is forcing retailers to store the canned meat product behind lock and key to stop a string of thefts.

The rash of heists of the mystery meat – a processed blend of pork known for its incredibly long shelf life – has prompted some proprietors to treat it like a pricey luxury item, putting the cans behind plastic cases to stop shoplifters looking to flip the island “staple” for quick cash, the Washington Post reports.

Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii, told the newspaper that the thieves aren’t likely hungry $2.50-a-can meat, but are probably targeting the popular Hormel product to sell it on a Spam black market in the Aloha State.

“We hear a lot of rumor where it’s going,” Yamaki said. “We’ve heard they work through middlemen. We’ve heard that they’re selling it from the back of their cars. We’ve heard all kinds of rumors. Whether they’re true or not, I’m not sure.”

For people who need cash in a hurry, Yamaki said Spam has become a reliable commodity to flip, part of “organized retail crime,” she said.

“It’s not like ‘I’m going to steal Spam to feed my family,’” she said. “I’m going in with a list of things I want to steal.”

The trend echoes another get-cash-quick scheme reported in 2013 in southern California, where police first spotted drug users stealing Tide detergent to sell or trade it for marijuana or crack cocaine. One supermarket chain in San Bernardino reported losing hundreds of dollars’ worth of Tide each week that summer.

In Hawaii — where 7 million cans of Spam are eaten each year, according to its website – Yamaki credited the recent Spam crime wave to a recent change made to the law against theft, which is now a felony for stolen items priced at $750 instead of $350.

“They steal right under [the cutoff],” Yamaki said.

Regarding the reported thefts, police in Honolulu are seeking two men who stole a case of Spam from a store on Oct. 3 and punched a security guard who tried to stop them, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports.

Six days later, a 17-year-old girl allegedly assaulted two employees at a convenience store after stealing a Spam musubi – a sushi-like Spam food — and a chocolate bar. The girl assaulted a store employee before fleeing but returned a short time later to assault a second employee, police told the Star-Advertiser.

But the most brazen theft appears to be from last month in the Pearl City section of Oahu, where a suspect grabbed eight cases of Spam and dashed out of a supermarket.

“That’s when I thought, ‘OK, this isn’t real. No, he’s not going to take it, no, no,’” customer Arlene Sua told KHON. “Next thing I knew once he passed the register, that’s when I heard the intercom management to the front and it was really fast.”

Yamaki told the station last month the thieves often work in pairs.

“There’s always someone who’s trying to distract from the person who’s stealing the things, so security will look at the person distracting and then they’ll go,” she told KITV. “It’s really unfortunate for the people of Hawaii because the prices go up and it’s also unfortunate for the retailers as well.”