Sticky Thieves Make Off With Millions Worth Of Maple Syrup

Pancakes in Canada will be somewhat dry for a little while thanks to a group of thieves who reportedly stole tens-of-millions worth of maple syrup from a warehouse in Quebec last week.

A group of pancake enthusiasts apparently made off with a “substantial amount” of maple syrup in the heist, a pull that has been estimated to be worth as much as $30 million. The theft was discovered during a routine inventory check of a temporary warehouse where the syrup was being stored. The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, which is responsible for the global strategic maple syrup reserve, kept the story quiet, hoping that police would catch the thieves sticky-handed. Unfortunately, those syrup snatchers knew what they were doing and apparently didn’t leave a trail, reports the Globe and Mail.

Why would they steal maple syrup in the first place?

“Obviously those people stole the maple syrup to sell it somewhere,” said a fed rep. “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.”

No worries, though. A spokeswoman for the group also said that there will, indeed, still be enough maple syrup to go around and that the makers are protected by insurance. The only concern here is black market sale of maple syrup, which could undercut retails prices and affect sales worldwide.