Thieves make off with 20,000 litres of maple syrup from Montreal storage depot

Policein Quebechave another maple syrup heist on their hands.

First, there was the Great Maple Syrup Heistof 2011-2012, in which $18 million worth of the sweetsap went missing.

Then, earlier this week, thieves made off with 20,000litres of Quebec's sweetest export, worth an estimated$150,000, from a storage facility near Montreal'sTrudeauairport inDorval.

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Alfredo Monaco,a vice-president at Mexuscan Cargo,said the thievesbroke into the warehouseand stole a shippingcontainer loaded with 20pallets ofKirkland brandone-litre bottles of syrup.

The syrupwas destined for the Japanese market.

The companyis offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the syrup'srecovery.

He said the "margins are thin" in the shipping business, and the theft has hurt the company's bottom line.

Monacobelieves it willbe difficultfor thieves to unload the syrup because Kirkland isCostco'shouse brand.

A challenge for the industry

While this isn't the first time a syrup heist has made headlines,Caroline Cyr, a spokeswoman forthe Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, said such thefts are rare.

Nevertheless, she said it's a challenge when it happens.

"It's not fun to learn about that, because a lot of producers have [contributed]," she said.

"And for someone to just steal it? For sure it's not a good news."

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