Maple syrup is the sweet, gooey treat we all love to drizzle over our pancakes in the morning. But anyone who’s bought a bottle recently will know that it’s just as expensive as it is delicious! With that being said, can you guess how much a whole barrel of the sticky stuff is worth? $100? $200? Well, it actually reaches a whopping $1,800, so it’s practically liquid gold!
And it’s sky-high value hasn’t gone unnoticed by criminals and crooks. So much so that one of the biggest heists in history saw almost $20 million worth of the sticky stuff swiped from under the maple syrup industry’s nose! But how was so much stolen without anyone noticing? Who would steal it? And where did it end up? Let's get stuck into one of the most bizarre heist stories in history!
How Michel Gauvreau Uncovered The Heist
It all began back in July 2012. Astute accountant Michel Gauvreau was performing a routine check of the massive maple syrup reserve that’s stored in a warehouse in Quebec, Canada. The International Strategic Reserve houses approximately 8,500 tons of maple syrup at any given time, and is essential to controlling the price of the golden goo.
However, as Gauvreau climbed up one of the towering stacks of syrup barrels, a barrel suddenly teetered and nearly gave way underneath him! Gauvreau held on for dear life, but after recovering his balance he discovered something impossible. The barrel that had almost sent him toppling to his doom was empty!
And upon checking more of the containers, he found that they were empty too, or filled with water instead of syrup! In total, nearly 540,000 gallons of the sweet stuff was missing, with a net worth of $18.7 million! However, this dramatic discovery was just the beginning.
Maple Syrup Production
To understand exactly what happened, and how, we need to first of all appreciate the immense importance of maple syrup in Canada - especially in Quebec. Canada is the world’s largest producer of maple syrup, making a staggering 14.3 million gallons of it in 2020. That’s enough to fill about 22 Olympic swimming pools!
And of those 14.3 million gallons, Quebec produced an extraordinary 13.2 million of them! The nation is so maple-mad that, in Quebec alone, maple syrup provides jobs for 12,000 people, and generated over $½ billion for the economy in 2020! So, basically, there’s an absolute ton of money to be made from the delicious tree honey. However, maple syrup isn’t easy to produce.
It comes from a specific type of tree called a sugar maple, which can be found in abundance across Canada. Cold nights and warm days trigger sap to flow out from within the trees, which is the basis for the sweet syrup. In Quebec, temperatures can range from the freezing depths of -0.4°F to highs of 77° F! These extremes are perfect for getting the maximum amount of sap from the trees.
But how does it get from the trees to our plates? Well, those clever Canadians have spent generations mastering the art of syrup production. A maple farmer usually owns a “sugar shack” which houses equipment to produce syrup. These sugar shacks sit beside the sugar bush, which is another word for the area of sugar maple forest owned by the farmer. The traditional method of syrup production starts with drilling a hole near the base of a tree trunk, which releases the sap trapped within. To catch this, a tap is pushed into the hole and then a bucket is placed beneath it, to ensure any sap that drains out is caught without wastage. After a day or two, the clear sap is collected.
The sap is now ready for the next stage of production; the boiling. Boiling removes a lot of water from the sap, which thickens and darkens it, until it finally becomes that iconic golden goo! But if you’re still not impressed, a method that has been developed more recently does away with the bucket system almost entirely. Instead, this technique involves setting up a maze-like network of tubes that collect sap from the trees and run all of it straight into one container. This is much more efficient, as it doesn’t require the maple farmer to walk around collecting all the individual buckets! I need to get one of these set up between my kitchen and couch!
Not all syrup is created equal though. Did you know that the darker the syrup, the stronger the flavor? Syrup made from sap early in the season has a lighter color; this is the syrup you have on your waffles and is the most marketable. On the other hand, the darkest syrup is mainly reserved for making candy and is very intense by itself. But whatever the strength, all syrups still rely on the weather being good enough to produce a prosperous yield of sap.
And there’s one problem with relying on the weather for, well, anything really. It’s unreliable. So, when conditions are poor for syrup production, it can lead to shortages, which drives its prices up. But when conditions are perfect, it can create an over-abundance of syrup, which sees prices plummet, resulting in a less profitable trade. So, it’s a tough old life if you’re a maple farmer, as you never quite know how much money you’ll make from one year to the next! That is, unless you live in Quebec. There, a controversial organization controls all maple syrup production and ensures the price of the liquid gold never wavers.
The Federation Of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers
The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers originally formed way back in 1958 and consisted of just a few producers in South Quebec. They wanted to protect their rights and so joined forces to market their syrup together. But as their influence grew, the collective gradually expanded to cover the whole of Quebec.
Over the years, the Federation held three referendums with maple producers across the nation to decide if they should be granted the power to set law-enforced rules and regulations. Every time, the proposals were rejected. That is, until 1989 when a fourth referendum was passed. Anyone in Quebec who doesn’t abide by the Federation’s rules is officially breaking the law, meaning they’re subject to penalties, fines, and even prison time.Simply put, the Federation keeps the price of Quebec syrup stable by enforcing a quota on every producer in the nation. In a good year, when producers make more maple syrup than the allotted amount, the Federation takes the excess from them and stores it in that previously mentioned Global Strategic Reserve. In years with worse weather, where less syrup is produced, the deficit is taken from the reserve to make up for the lower yield.
With this system in place, there’s always the same amount of maple syrup in circulation, and so the price is maintained at a steady high. So, producers know they’ll be financially stable regardless of the weather! On paper, this sounds pretty perfect, right?Well, some Quebecois are far from happy with the Federation, and see it as a nefarious group of people extorting syrup producers. As well as bagging any excess syrup from the farmers, the Federation also takes a substantial 12% cut of all sales. Producers are only allowed to sell cans to visitors on their farms if they contain less than 1.1 gallons. And though they’re allowed to sell to local supermarkets too, they have to pay 12 cents to the Federation for every pound of syrup sold.
Critics of the organization have gone as far as to call it a cartel, or even the mafia! So let’s take a look at the definition of a cartel: “an association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition.” That certainly checks out. As for the mafia comparison? Well, this is where it starts getting really juicy, or syrupy.
Maple Syrup Rebels
What do you think happens if you don’t hand over your excess syrup? What if you decide to go around the Federation’s system and sell off the extra by yourself instead? Well, some producers, dubbed “rebels” by the Federation, have found out the hard way.
One such rebel, called Daniel Gaudreau, was accused in 2014 of selling more than his allotted quota. In response, Federation officials came knocking on his door and seized his entire syrup production. Then, shady-looking private guards appeared on his property. Intimidatingly, they started watching over him like he was Julian Assange, or something! And like that wasn’t enough, he was also sued for a whopping $182,000! Gaudreau says the Federation is built on a foundation of fear and, because of its financial superiority, few dare to fight it.
But Paul Rouillard, the Federation’s now retired deputy director, defends its actions. In 1990, following the referendum that granted the Federation its powers, maple syrup prices were very low. Back then it sold for just $1 per pound, or $620 per barrel. Due to this, producers were actually very happy for the Federation to intervene because it promised to raise the price and keep it stable. Rouillard insists that the system is excellent and the stability it’s brought to Quebec’s maple industry is a huge advantage to producers. Undoubtedly, the Federation has fulfilled its 1990 promise, at $1800 a barrel, the price of syrup has almost tripled, and is now nearly 30 times the price of crude oil! And it doesn’t look set to drop any time soon either. So, in 2011 when the Federation decided to rent a warehouse for the Global Syrup Reserve, they might’ve suspected someone would try and steal some of it. But it’d be hard enough stealing a single barrel when they weigh a back-breaking 620 pounds each, right? Never mind stealing 9571 barrels! But that’s exactly the number that was found desolately devoid of syrup one year later, in 2012. So, what the heck happened? Was it a team of pancake-loving ninjas, blending with the shadows and working together to shift the barrels to their secret ninja-base? You wish! But the reality is almost as far-fetched, if not more!
As it happened, the warehouse holding the rows of sweet, sweet liquid was owned by the wife of one Avik Caron. Caron, who quickly realised he was sitting on a gargantuan goldmine, couldn’t believe his luck. All in all, the Federation had left over $30 million worth of syrup barrels in the storage facility, and the only security for the whole place was one guard.
This wasn’t exactly the CIA headquarters, but you’d think they might’ve at least hired two guards, wouldn’t you? Just in case one of them needs to go pee or something? Anyway, Caron quickly decided he was going to steal as much of the gooey goodness as possible, he just needed a top team of people to help him do it.
Enter Richard Vallières, a black-market maple syrup dealer, and long-time enemy of the Federation. He made a living buying and selling syrup directly from producers in Quebec, bypassing the Federation, and so was no stranger to this strangely specific crime. Caron’s truck driver, Sebastien Jutras, had recommended the man to him. Then, together, Caron and Vallières hatched a plan which, if they could pull it off, would make them millionaires.
Maple Syrup Heist
One evening on the fateful fall of 2011, Jutras pulled his truck up outside the massive Reserve warehouse. Everything seemed normal, and there was no guard in sight to question him. Suddenly, the truck doors launched open, and a team of people jumped out.
Wasting no time, the thieves broke the locks on the warehouse door and darted inside. From there, they worked tirelessly to load as many barrels onto the tractor-trailer as they could. Once the truck was full, the barrels were driven to a sugar shack owned by Raymond Vallières, Richard’s father. Here, they were emptied into separate identical barrels that had been secured earlier. The original barrels were then taken to a nearby creek, where they were filled with stagnant water so that they’d weigh roughly what they had before. Weigh, but definitely not smell. Finally, the water-filled barrels were taken back to the warehouse, so as not to arouse suspicion. It was then a case of rinse and repeat, with dirty, disgusting pondwater.
While this cycle was repeated over and over, Richard Vallières bought the stolen syrup from Caron for up to $200,000 per trade! Then, he sold it at a higher price to buyers outside of Quebec, who had no idea their newly acquired syrup had been snatched. Of these barrel buyers, the biggest player was Etienne St-Pierre, the most French-sounding man outside of France.
Even though St-Pierre lived beyond the borders of Quebec, in New Brunswick, he was known to the Federation, and not in a good way. That’s because he’d already been to court a jaw-dropping 45 times for trading syrup outside of the Federation’s carefully regulated structure. This didn’t faze St-Pierre though, because he carried on buying the illicit syrup regardless. This guy either really loves court, or really hates the Federation.Anyway, the whole operation carried on like this for months, from August 2011 through to the end of July 2012. Seemingly, the gang of thieves thought that they’d never be caught. Richard Vallières, who’d netted nearly $1 million from these dastardly dealings, was clearly enjoying himself. He treated himself to not one, not two, but three lavish vacations! So, if everything was going so well, how did it all go so wrong? Well, in their blasé confidence, the men got lazy. Before long, they stopped bothering to fill the stolen barrels back up with water. Instead, they’d just drive the empty barrels back, and place them next to full ones.
It didn’t matter, right? Nobody ever seemed to check them because if they did, surely, they’d have heard something in the news by now! But the bungling burglars hadn’t counted on the whole operation being blown by one man. Because it turns out, the Federation did eventually hire somebody to check the barrels, our previously mentioned, super astute accountant Michel Gauvreau.
Uncovering The Heist
Charged with inspecting all 16,000 barrels in the packed warehouse, he was partway through the tedious task of examining the barrels at the top when one of them rocked in place and almost sent him crashing to a sticky end. He might’ve even welcomed this refreshing change of pace!
One thing is for sure though, when Gauvreau opened that barrel and found it empty, it made his day a heck of a lot less boring. Because it was this that started the biggest police investigation in Quebec’s history.
The
news of the robbery exploded onto the press and was covered worldwide. Everybody wanted to know how such a massive heist had been pulled off without even a whiff of suspicion. And nobody wanted to know more than the Federation. Almost 3,000 tons of maple syrup worth $19 million had vanished without a trace, stolen by an unknown party. And trying to recover something so exceptionally edible posed a pretty big problem. Even if police could track down the syrup, how much of it had already been poured over people’s breakfasts? Undeterred, a record-breaking force of 250 investigators questioned over 300 witnesses and searched 40 houses for any sign of the liquid gold. But the trail soon ran as cold as a Canadian winter’s night.
It turns out, most of the stolen syrup had already made its way into the legal syrup market and couldn’t be traced. However, the Federation had a hunch. There was one man they’d clashed with so many times that they were sure he knew something about what had happened. Can you guess who they went looking for?At 10am on September 25th, 2012, Etienne St Pierre was working in his New Brunswick office when two police officers arrived with a search warrant from Quebec. His colleague casually opened the door. Then, she snatched the search warrant from them, pretended to wipe her butt with it, and slammed the door back in their faces. She knew a Quebec warrant wouldn’t work in New Brunswick, where St Pierre operated. But this act of daring defiance only delayed the inevitable.
Later that evening, the officers returned with a warrant that did hold sway. Sealed with the stamp of approval from a New Brunswick judge, it gave the police full rights to search St Pierre’s premises. And inside his warehouse, they found over $1 million worth of syrup. St Pierre made no attempt to lie about the origin of the barrels and told the authorities they were purchased from a man called Richard Vallières. Suddenly, the penny dropped. That name was almost as notorious to the Federation as St Pierre’s! Wasting no time, police seized all of St Pierre’s syrup, then tracked down Vallières and took up to 100 more barrels from him. After Vallières and St Pierre were arrested, it didn’t take long for the trail to lead investigators to Raymond Vallières and Avik Caron. Finally, it seemed the game was up.
Legal Disputes
Both of the Vallières’, Caron, and St Pierre were all taken to court on charges of either stealing the syrup or helping to sell it. While testifying at one of his court sessions, Richard Vallières broke down crying. Vallières pointed the finger at Caron, insisting between sobs that he’d held him at gunpoint and ordered him to carry on with the operation, or else. Caron denied this, telling the judge that members of the Montreal Mafia had gotten involved and that they were the ones spearheading the heist.
Ultimately, there was no evidence to support either of the men’s claims. Damning text messages were eventually uncovered where Caron congratulated Vallières on the birth of his child! That’s pretty far from holding him at gunpoint if you ask me! So, unsurprisingly, all four suspects were found guilty as charged.Richard Vallières was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $9.4 million, though this was later reduced to $1 million. Avik Caron received five years in prison and a $1.2 million fine. Both Raymond Vallières and Etienne St Pierre were each given two years of house arrest minus one day. Although, St Pierre still claims he had no idea the syrup was stolen, and that the Federation were just looking to scapegoat him. At Raymond’s court hearing, he justified his actions by saying “stealing from thieves is not stealing”. Clearly, the sense of resentment that some people feel towards Quebec’s legal cartel is still strong today.
But even with the maple bandits locked behind bars, the sticky story wasn’t over yet. Because one woman had been leading the charge against the Federation for years before Avik Caron ever even thought about stealing syrup. And, arguably, she’s been even more of a thorn in their side than Etienne St Pierre. Her name? Angèle Grenier, a self-proclaimed smuggler and illegal dealer, renowned for selling contraband syrup to buyers outside Quebec. Between 2002 and 2014, Grenier exported hundreds upon hundreds of barrels of maple syrup outside the borders of the Federation, so she could be paid for all of the excess that she was making. The vigilante syrup slinger avoided the attention of authorities by sneaking around her maple farm under the cover of darkness. Using only the moon for light, she and her father routinely lugged and loaded heavy barrels into her truck without being seen by a soul. After this, she’d race all the way across the border into New Brunswick, where she’d sell her product, away from the prying eyes of the Federation.
But despite all of this stealthy spy-work, it seems that nobody can escape the clutches of the Maple Mafia forever. One fateful day in 2015, as she carefully loaded her truck with barrels, Grenier realized with a pang that she was being watched!
Alarmed, she called for her family to get the containers onto the truck as swiftly as possible, and they all hurriedly piled them in. But the damage had already been done. The syrupy overlords had finally caught her, and it didn’t take long for them to shut down her clandestine exports for good. To make matters worse, the court ruled that a sheriff was allowed to go into Grenier’s sugar shack any time they wanted to, without giving any notice at all. And on these inspections, they could take photos, videos, and even stick the Federation seal on her barrels to make it impossible for her to sell them elsewhere. So, with the authorities watching her every move, Grenier had no choice but to stop selling her surplus syrup and abide by the Federation’s rules.
If you thought the maple farmer’s woes were over though, you’d be wrong. Because, after that, she was whacked with a whopping fine of over $300,000 to account for all the syrup she’d exported. Ever the fighter, Grenier set up a fundraiser online titled “Maple Syrup is not a crime”. She’d hoped to raise enough money to continue her legal war and dispute the fine. Funnily enough, one Richard Vallières even donated to the cause! However, it just wasn’t enough. After months of campaigning, Grenier only managed to raise $5,500 out of the $50,000 that she needed for legal fees. In 2018, after a slew of defeats in court, she finally hung up her hat and sold the sugar bush she’d owned since 1994. Even this, it turns out, was one final act of defiance. The avid anti-Federation fighter said she’d rather quit the trade completely than join what she considers to be a corrupt cartel.But with the Federation’s most outspoken critic leaving the battle, the war appears to be very much in favor of the pro-Feds. Tired of fighting and drained of finances, many of the
rebels have settled their disputes with the organization and opted for a life of peace. And maybe it’s better this way. The Federation is adamant that the “rebels” were always just a vocal minority anyway, and that most producers in Quebec are happy with the rules and regulations in place.
I hope you were amazed at the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist! Thanks for reading.
