Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist
The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist () was the theft over several months in 2011 and 2012 of nearly of maple syrup, valued at C$18.7 million from a storage facility in Quebec. The facility was operated by the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers () who represent 77% of the global maple syrup supply. Adjusted for inflation (2020), the heist is the most valuable in Canadian history. Origins. In 1966, a group of maple syrup producers in Quebec participated in a joint plan to collectively market maple syrup. This effort inspired the formation of a larger  agreement all across Quebec which became known as the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers. The FPAQ maintains a strategic reserve of maple syrup, officially known as the International Strategic Reserve (ISR) across multiple warehouses in rural Quebec towns. Theft. Over the course of several months between 2011 and 2012, the contents of 9,571 barrels, valued at C$18.7M, were stolen in a suspected insider job from a FPAQ facility in Saint-Louis-de-Blandford, Quebec. The syrup was stored in unmarked white metal barrels inspected only once a year. Thieves used trucks to transport barrels to a remote  sugar shack, where they siphoned off the maple syrup, refilled the barrels with water, then returned them to the facility. As the operation progressed, the thieves started siphoning syrup directly off barrels in the reserve without refilling them. The stolen syrup was trucked to the south (Vermont) and east (New Brunswick), where it was trafficked in many small batches to reduce suspicion. It was typically sold to legitimate syrup distributors who were unaware of its origin. Discovery and investigation. In July 2012, the FPAQ took its annual inventory of syrup barrels. Inspector Michel Gauvreau started climbing up the barrels and  nearly fell, expecting barrels but finding them to be empty. Police later recovered hundreds of barrels of the syrup from an exporter based in Kedgwick, New Brunswick. Between 18 and 20 December 2012, police arrested 17 men related to the theft. In popular culture. The theft was featured in the Netflix documentary series "Dirty Money" in season 1, episode 5, "The Maple Syrup Heist".