For weeks, a man hid in the rafters at Haggen grocery store in the Lakeland Town Center, then emerged after hours to help himself to a store stocked with items.

He especially enjoyed pricey cheese and ordinary cigarettes.

Auburn Police had been called to the grocery store on several occasions since Christmas Day, looking for the man suspected of stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of cigarettes and liquor.

Additional 911 calls followed.

Police even released a video of the man in action.

In each incident, employees either saw the suspect or heard the suspect in the rafters above the ceiling. In each case, officers searched above the false ceiling but came up empty.

Police finally caught up with the burglar.

The Auburn Police Department said Wednesday on a Facebook posting that a man who was accessing store through the rafters was identified and arrested. The suspect’s name was not released.

A search warrant served by Property Crimes Detectives located some very expensive cheese that was missing from the store, as well as cigarettes.

“The cheese cannot be re-sold by the store, so it was photographed for the case, then donated to the food bank,” police said on Facebook.

“We are proud of our Property Crimes Unit that relentlessly pursued all leads to conclude in an arrest.”

Auburn Police found packs of cigarettes taken from the store. COURTESY PHOTO, Auburn Police