Butter remains a surprising but valuable target for thieves in one Ontario city, local police say.
Two more large-scale thefts were reported last week from different grocery stores in the Guelph’s north end, bringing the total number of butter thefts to seven in the city this year, Guelph police said.
The first incident this month occurred on Oct. 12 at a business, when two males entered the store separately before meeting inside.
Police allege that they placed several items in a cart, including three cases of butter valued at approximately $936, and left through a receiving door without paying. The suspects were seen fleeing in white sedan.
Four days later, on Oct. 16th, another butter theft took place at a business in the same area. Police allege that two males, who also entered separately before meeting inside, stole four cases of butter valued at $958.
Police allege that the suspects fled through an emergency door before escaping in a similar white sedan.
These two incidents are part of a string of “large-scale butter thefts” that have been occurring in the Guelph region. The largest, valued at more than $1,000, occurred last December, police told Global News.
“Butter continues to be a hot commodity for thieves in Guelph,” police wrote in a statement.
The connection between the incidents has not yet been confirmed but is being investigated.