ST-LOUIS-DE-BLANDFORD, Quebec — Police in Quebec were following the scent of something sweet — millions of dollars’ worth of maple syrup missing from a large warehouse stocking more than $30 million worth of the amber nectar.
The theft puts a cavity-sized dent in Quebec’s syrup stock, considered to be a global strategic reserve of the sweet stuff that is often used to replenish markets during disappointing seasons. Quebec produces up to 75 percent of the world’s maple syrup.
Quebec Provincial Sgt. Claude Denis said Friday it was too soon to determine the exact quantity or value of the maple syrup stolen from the St. Louis-De-Blandford facility where over 10 million pounds (4.54 million kilograms) is stored.
The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers said it discovered the missing syrup last week during a routine inventory where empty barrels were found at the site at St-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec. Officials initially kept the news quiet, hoping it would help police solve the crime.
Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, the executive director of the federation, said that while it isn’t unusual for individual maple syrup producers to have stock stolen, having millions worth of syrup stolen is “unusual”.
“It’s the first time something like this has happened,” she said. “We’ve never seen a robbery of this magnitude.”
She said the disappearance of the stock wasn’t obvious at first in the huge warehouse. The facility alone houses nearly the equivalent of half the entire U.S. production of maple syrup in a year, she said.
“The U.S. market is the main market for maple syrup, about 75 percent of Canadian maple syrup is directly exported to the U.S.,” she said. She noted the theft was particularly ill-timed after a disappointing 2012 season for U.S. producers, triggering more demand for Canadian syrup.
She said auditors would require a few more days to determine how many of the 45-gallon barrels have been emptied.
Theft of stock at the individual producer level prompted the industry in Quebec to group inventory in locations such as this, Granger Godbout said.
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Associated Press Writer Phil Couvrette contributed to this report from Ottawa, Ontario.
Stake out I-hop and Denny’s.
Stake out the East Coast container ports of both the US and Canada, I say.
5 years in jail for selling fake maple syrup . I bet it is less time for selling stolen real deal.
It sure is not that much time for selling bad mortgage backed securities
that not only were designed to fail, but that the sellers make side bets they would fail,
but only after they sold them to some other suckers … a stolen raw deal, right ?
But hey, the elites on Wall St. do deserve more protection under the law than some poor Frenchman who actually work hard for a living out in the snow and rain in March,
don’t they ?
The real moral of this story is if anyone tries to you sell any maple syrup, say sure,
I use could plenty , but I need to make sure all my partners are all okay with the deal.
Then call the State Police, who will bring Dudley Doright to the next meeting with those selling maple syrup.
Depends on who you are . Laws are always made to hurt the little guy and defend bib business. Let see walmart 55 db gain rabbits ears . Should get TV stations 20 light years away by my calculations . Fraud is fraud and all should be treated the same.
So do you support some thief ?
Not at all . Just saying it is harder for an honest person with some integrity to make a living. Big business has all the laws (cards) stacked in there favor.
Oh you should have said it that way, before.
As to what you did say, should we be able to get TV reception from the Planet Kolob, then, do you think ?
The thing is they will not pick up local stations even in Bangor . Just more fraud for big business to get rich.
Forty trees, 42 taps, 6 weeks later, I have 6 gallons of syrup. Lots of very very hard work for such yummy liquid nectar. Not worried about Quebec loosing their stash. Doesn’t seem like a lot of syrup that we made but it will last us till next spring when we get to do it all over again. And its so much better then store bought stuff.
The stuff in the store is corn syrup
Sounds like a good time for US Maple syrup producers to take advantage of this and get ahead and get a hold of the supply-demand thing, if the stuff was mostly sold here anyway.
Do we really not have enough maple trees and syrup makers, to supply ourselves with maple syrup instead of having to ‘import’ it?
Next time I buy maple syrup I’m going to be sure to buy it only if it says “made in the USA”. Funny I spend more time paying attention to the price than where it’s being made. I’m ashamed of myself on this one, but the stuff is always pretty expensive so I never thought to look where it’s actually made, if I buy in the food store.
Many local ‘sugar shacks’ Zep, likely one in your neck of the Maine woods.
goggle it.
I think this was the first tactical strike in the “War On Obesity”. This has all the elements of a black-op.
I wouldn’t doubt this is a ruse to raise prices…
Aunt Jemima is the prime suspect.