Millions of dollars in maple syrup stolen
As much as 80% of the world's maple syrup comes from Quebec.
August 31st, 2012
12:44 PM ET

Millions of dollars in maple syrup stolen

Talk about sticky-fingered thieves. They've struck in Quebec, snatching millions of dollars worth of maple syrup from a warehouse in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, between Montreal and Quebec City.

Up to 10 million pounds of syrup was in the warehouse, according to a statement from the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, which bills itself as keeper of  the global strategic maple syrup reserve.

Officials could not say exactly how much of the product was stolen, but a Quebec police official told The Globe and Mail it was a substantial quantity.

“We know that it’s millions of dollars that was stolen,” Sgt. Richard Gagné is quoted as saying. “It’s a very large amount.”

The 10 million pounds of syrup that was in the warehouse is worth more than $30 million, according to the federation statement.

The theft was discovered during a routine inventory check of the warehouse, which "had been secured by a fence and locks, and visited regularly," federation president Serge Beaulieu said in the statement.

The barrels that originally contained the syrup were empty, meaning it was somehow transferred to some other kind of containers to complete the theft, the federation said.

The warehouse where the theft occurred was being used to temporarily store the sweet stuff while a new facility was being prepared.

As much as 80% of the world's maple syrup comes from Quebec, the federation said.

Though the federation is insured for the loss, if the stolen syrup makes its way onto the market, it could hurt the group's 10,000 members.

"The marketing of the stolen maple syrup will affect the entire maple industry. It is crucial to identify those responsible for this crime," the statement said.

“Obviously those people stole the maple syrup to sell it somewhere,” federation director Anne-Marie Granger Godbout told The Globe and Mail. “If it’s a big volume, it could be very harmful for the maple syrup industry. The companies that are working in this industry will have to compete with some company that didn’t pay for the maple syrup.”

The federation said the theft shouldn't affect supplies available to the public.

"The sales agency's maple syrup inventory is spread across several storage locations which were not subject to theft," Beaulieu said in the statement.

The amount in the warehouse represents about one-10th of Quebec's 2012 harvest and more than 25% of the federation's stock, CNN affiliate CBC reported.

Post by:
Filed under: Agriculture • Canada • Crime • Food
soundoff (418 Responses)
  1. bubba

    I'll bet some sap did it....

    August 31, 2012 at 2:54 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Gimcy

    Maybe it's not a heist after all. Perhaps it was picked up legitimately and not entered on the computer. That or it's an inside job.

    August 31, 2012 at 2:56 pm | Report abuse |
  3. bigdawg88

    Anybody else check the date on the story to see if it was April 1st? Is there really a need for a global strategic reserve of maple syrup??? IDK, but I'd check for bear paw prints.

    August 31, 2012 at 2:56 pm | Report abuse |
  4. snowdogg

    Had to be an inside job... probably over a period of time... the security personnel "looked the other way"?

    August 31, 2012 at 3:00 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Badenov

    Canadian APB: "Eh, all units. Be on the lookout for anyone being followed by a family of bears ... or for any reports of persons hording a large amount of pancake mix and butter. Eh, Over."

    August 31, 2012 at 3:01 pm | Report abuse |
    • A

      Nice try, but "eh" comes at the end of a sentence.

      August 31, 2012 at 3:08 pm | Report abuse |
  6. amanda

    That is the worst idea I have ever heard...fencing a couple 1000 tons of maple syrup. Some sort of minority had to come up with this idea.

    August 31, 2012 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Michael J

    Seems like a caper from a scooby doo episode

    August 31, 2012 at 3:02 pm | Report abuse |
  8. mrdenali

    oh my, whats a beaver to do, eh?

    August 31, 2012 at 3:03 pm | Report abuse |
  9. mrdenali

    whats a beaver to do, eh?

    August 31, 2012 at 3:03 pm | Report abuse |
  10. Owl96

    Should be easy to catch the thief. Just watch for someone buying 147 boxes of pancake mix.

    August 31, 2012 at 3:08 pm | Report abuse |
  11. bigdawg88

    After working in inventory control for many years, I bet it was never moved to the temporary warehouse and is sitting in the old warehouse. Somebody entered the transaction in the computer anyway and didn't check.

    August 31, 2012 at 3:10 pm | Report abuse |
  12. Yogi Bear

    It was Walter White. He's designed a way to make meth with maple syrup. Look in the desert for a large container in the ground.

    August 31, 2012 at 3:10 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Joe

    Pancakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    August 31, 2012 at 3:15 pm | Report abuse |
  14. todd

    10 million pounds? It's accounting fraud.

    August 31, 2012 at 3:21 pm | Report abuse |
  15. PallasAthene

    Looks like someone read John Ringo's Live Free or Die and they are getting ready for the Horvath invasion. Serious money was made off alien races with maple syrup because they got intoxicated drinking it.

    August 31, 2012 at 3:26 pm | Report abuse |
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19