127 The Maple Syrup Heist of 2011

QUÉBEC, CANADA

This is the story of Canada’s most valuable theft—perhaps the most Canadian crime ever committed.

It was July of 2011, and Avik Caron had a kind of nervous excitement. An opportunity had fallen into his lap to stick it to the “Maple Syrup Mafia” – and, of course, line his pockets with cash as he did so. The problem was, he didn't quite know how to do it. But with Maple Syrup worth over ten times more per barrel than crude oil, what did he have to lose?

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Credits:

Research, writing, sound design: Kristi Lee
Audio editing and production: We Talk of Dreams
Production assistance: Jesse Hawke 
Theme songs by We Talk of Dreams
Disclaimer voiced by the host of True

Resources and information sources

Court Documents and legal analysis:

• R.v. Vallières , 2017 QCCS 1689 (CanLII)

• R.v. McLean , 2017 QCCS 2745 (CanLII)

• R.v. St-Pierre , 2017 QCCS 1688 (CanLII)

• Caron c. R. , 2017 QCCS 352 (CanLII)

• Caron c. R. , 2017 QCCS 351 (CanLII)

• Caron c. R. , 2017 QCCS 350 (CanLII)

• Appeal: Vallieres c. R. , 2020 QCCA 372 (CanLII)

• Supreme Court: R.v. Vallières , 2022 SCC 10 (CanLII)

• http://www.thecourt.ca/a-sticky-situation-scc-grants-leave-to-appeal-for-maple-syrup-heist-case-in-r-v-vallieres/

• http://www.thecourt.ca/maple-syrup-gone-wrong/  

Documentaries:

• The Sweetest Heist 16x9, Global

• Dirty Money, Series 1 Episode 5: The Maple Syrup Heist Netflix

Online Articles:

• Maple Syrup: Quebec Is Hurting Its Producers and Encouraging Its Competitors – IEDM/MEI 

• About Pure Maple Syrup from Canada 

• Maple Syrup Monopolies Are a Sticky Business | Julia Métraux for Dame Magazine

• The QMSP Story - PPAQ

• Why Canada is unlocking its vault of maple syrup | CBC News

• Québec's Legal Maple Syrup Cartel Dictates Prices For Vermont Maple Producers

• https://economicdashboard.alberta.ca/oilprice

• How a maple syrup rebellion is rising in Quebec | Financial Post

• 'It's crazy, isn't it?': Quebec's maple syrup rebels face ruin as cartel crushes dissent | Financial Post 

• A look inside Quebec’s Fort Knox of maple syrup - The Globe and Mail

• Guilty plea in maple syrup heist - PressReader

• Sweet revenge for Quebec maple syrup producers: Thief gets five years for role in $18.7 million heist | National Post

• Key player in Quebec maple syrup heist gets day parole | Montreal Gazette

• Three Quebec men sentenced for $18-million maple syrup heist | Montreal Gazette

• The great Canadian maple syrup heist 

• Vol de sirop d'érable: lourde sentence pour Richard Vallières | Justice et faits divers | Actualités | Le Nouvelliste - Trois-Rivières

• UPDATE: More arrests in Quebec maple syrup heist | Globalnews.ca

• TIMELINE: The Sweetest Heist | Globalnews.ca

• Vol de sirop d'érable: devant la Cour d’appel en invoquant l’arrêt Jordan | Actualités

• Vol de sirop d'érable: lourde sentence pour Richard Vallières | Justice et faits divers | Actualités | Le Nouvelliste - Trois-Rivières

• Alleged ringleader in $18.7M maple syrup theft testifies he faced death threats | CBC News

• Inside Quebec's Maple Syrup Cartel - The Bull & Bear

• Inside Quebec’s maple syrup cartel

• Maple syrup worth up to $30M stolen in Quebec | CBC News

• Maple Syrup Monopolies Are a Sticky Business | Dame Magazine

• Inside Quebec’s Great, Multi-Million-Dollar Maple-Syrup Heist | Vanity Fair

• Vol de sirop d'érable: devant la Cour d’appel en invoquant l’arrêt Jordan | Actualités

• TIMELINE: The Sweetest Heist | Globalnews.ca

• Thieves Hit Warehouse Holding $30 Million Of Canadian Maple Syrup : The Two-Way : NPR

• Vol de sirop d'érable: lourde sentence pour Richard Vallières | Justice et faits divers | Actualités | Le Nouvelliste - Trois-Rivières

• Arrests made in Quebec maple syrup heist - AGCanada

• Maple syrup heist baffles Quebec - AGCanada

• 15 more Quebec arrests in stolen maple syrup case | CBC News

• Maple syrup seized in N.B. may have been stolen in Quebec | CBC News

• Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear case involving fine for maple syrup heist | Globalnews.ca

• Mastermind of Quebec maple syrup heist gets 8 years in prison, $9.4M fine | Globalnews.ca

• GUILTY PLEA ENDS CASE OF THE GREAT MAPLE SYRUP HEIST - PressReader

• Alleged thief tells Quebec court man threatened to kill him and his family if he didn't buy stolen maple syrup | National Post 

• Alleged ringleader in $18.7M maple syrup theft testifies he faced death threats | CBC News 

• Guilty plea in maple syrup heist - PressReader

• Key player in Quebec maple syrup heist gets day parole | Montreal Gazette
  Three Quebec men sentenced for $18-million maple syrup heist | Montreal Gazette

• Canada’s ‘maple syrup heist’ thief must repay millions for sweet stolen goods

• Canada is unlocking its maple syrup vault. Here's what it looks like | CBC News 

News archives:

• Non-wood Forest Products from Temperate Broad-leaved Trees, Volume 15 of FAO technical papers, Issue 15 of Non-wood forest products, ISSN 1020-3370, by William M. Ciesla

• https://web.archive.org/web/20170425052229/http://www.lapresse.ca/le-nouvelliste/justice-et-faits-divers/201702/27/01-5073869-sirop-derable-huit-ans-de-prison-sont-reclames.php

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/514477711/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/514531863/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/456450940/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/426797847/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1 

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/477052000/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/488199056/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1

• https://www.newspapers.com/image/426998822/?terms=maple%20syrup&match=1

Music credits:

Theme Song and other original music: We Talk of Dreams
Blue Dot Sessions: Palms Down, illa Villardo, Cicle Ariel, Idle Ways, Game Lands
Serghey Cherimisinov - Our Future, Fog
Swelling - Days I, Night I, Night II
Kai Engel - Cold War Echo