Thieves In Quebec Stole Thousands Of Litres Of Maple Syrup In The Most Canadian Crime Ever

A Canadian shipping company has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can help track down a truckload of maple syrup, after it was stolen by bandits from a shipping yard earlier this week.

The quintessentially Canadian caper went down on the night of Monday August 8, with the thieves absconding in a truck packed with nearly 13,000 one litre bottles of sweet, sweet liquid gold. The loot is reported to have an estimated value of around $150,000.

“We do take precautions, but the minute you let your guard down for one second, that’s it,” Mexuscan Cargo vice-president Alfredo Monaco told Canada’s Financial Post.

Monaco is hopeful that the syrup can be recovered, since the bottles were already labeled. “People will know what it is, so it’s probably harder to get rid of on the black market,” he said, as if the concept of a black market for maple syrup was a completely normal thing to be talking about.

Then again, perhaps this isn’t as ridiculous as it all sounds. One barrel of maple syrup is reportedly worth around 13 times that of a barrel of crude oil – and as it turns out, this isn’t the first big syrup heist in Canada’s recent history, either.

Between August 2011 and July 2012, more than $18 million worth of the sweet stuff was stolen from a warehouse in Quebec. The theft led to an extensive police investigation that resulted in 26 arrests. Sony Pictures even bought the rights to make a film adaptation, with Jason Segel at one point set to star.

Point is, the next time you’re enjoying a stack of pancakes, make sure you keep your wits about you. You never know when thieves are on the prowl.