<p>US police have an unusual case to crack: why were several hundred pounds of pasta illegally dumped next to a stream in a New Jersey town?</p>.<p>The macaroni mystery unfolded in Old Bridge, near New York City, late last month when a resident posted pictures of oodles of noodles on Facebook.</p>.<p>The photos showed no sauce, no parmesan, and no meatballs -- just piles and piles of spaghetti, macaroni and alphabet shapes beside a creek in the woods.</p>.<p>"Fifteen wheelbarrow loads," to be exact, town business administrator Himanshu Shah told <em>AFP </em>in a statement Friday.</p>.<p><b>Read | </b><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/indian-origin-man-accused-of-murdering-two-men-in-us-parking-lot-1215977.html" target="_blank"><strong>Indian-origin man accused of murdering two men in US parking lot</strong></a></p>.<p>He said employees from the public works department and police officers were dispatched to the scene after seeing the images circulate online.</p>.<p>"We would estimate several hundred pounds of uncooked pasta that was removed from the packaging and then dumped along the creek," Shah added.</p>.<p>That was sure to raise eyebrows in New Jersey, where about 17 per cent of the population identify as having Italian ancestry.</p>.<p>Workers were able to load all of the food in under an hour and properly dispose of it, he explained.</p>.<p>"It looks like it was only there for a short time but moisture did start to soften some of the pasta," said Shah, who added that the police were investigating.</p>.<p>Local media reported that the town of 65,000 people was abuzz with speculation about who might be responsible -- a restaurant perhaps, or a cancelled caterer?</p>.<p>Social media users were quick to share their pasta puns.</p>.<p>"We should send the perpetrators to the state penne tentiary," someone quipped on Reddit.</p>
<p>US police have an unusual case to crack: why were several hundred pounds of pasta illegally dumped next to a stream in a New Jersey town?</p>.<p>The macaroni mystery unfolded in Old Bridge, near New York City, late last month when a resident posted pictures of oodles of noodles on Facebook.</p>.<p>The photos showed no sauce, no parmesan, and no meatballs -- just piles and piles of spaghetti, macaroni and alphabet shapes beside a creek in the woods.</p>.<p>"Fifteen wheelbarrow loads," to be exact, town business administrator Himanshu Shah told <em>AFP </em>in a statement Friday.</p>.<p><b>Read | </b><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/indian-origin-man-accused-of-murdering-two-men-in-us-parking-lot-1215977.html" target="_blank"><strong>Indian-origin man accused of murdering two men in US parking lot</strong></a></p>.<p>He said employees from the public works department and police officers were dispatched to the scene after seeing the images circulate online.</p>.<p>"We would estimate several hundred pounds of uncooked pasta that was removed from the packaging and then dumped along the creek," Shah added.</p>.<p>That was sure to raise eyebrows in New Jersey, where about 17 per cent of the population identify as having Italian ancestry.</p>.<p>Workers were able to load all of the food in under an hour and properly dispose of it, he explained.</p>.<p>"It looks like it was only there for a short time but moisture did start to soften some of the pasta," said Shah, who added that the police were investigating.</p>.<p>Local media reported that the town of 65,000 people was abuzz with speculation about who might be responsible -- a restaurant perhaps, or a cancelled caterer?</p>.<p>Social media users were quick to share their pasta puns.</p>.<p>"We should send the perpetrators to the state penne tentiary," someone quipped on Reddit.</p>