$100,000 in Crown Royal whisky stolen

Security video shows $100,000 worth of Crown Royal stolen. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell has details.

Windsor police are investigating after suspects stole a truckload of whisky valued at $100,000 wholesale, with a retail value estimated to be closer to $500,000.

Police say suspects broke into a fenced-in facility in the 3300 block of Devon Drive around 9 p.m. on May 17 and stole a semi-tractor trailer loaded with more than 1,000 boxes of Crown Royal whisky products.

“They stole a semi truck trailer loaded with over 1,000 boxes of Crown Royal products, and a retail value of that amount would be almost $500,000,” said Const. Bianca Jackson with Windsor police.

The trailer was found abandoned the following day in the 4000 block of County Road 46. The whisky had been removed and has not been located.

“At this point, the suspects are unknown. We believe that there’s approximately six or more persons who are involved in this incident,” said Jackson. “We believe that there’s several suspects involved in being able to pull off a theft of this caliber. So, at this point, we are investigating several suspects, or persons of interest, but we don’t have specific suspects in name at this point.”

Jackson said investigators are still trying to determine how the thieves knew about the shipment.

“That’s all part of the investigation. We hope to uncover how exactly the suspects knew that the alcohol was stored there, the amount that was stored there,” she said. “I can’t say that in my time here that I have seen anything like this before.”

Jackson said due to the size of the haul, police are confident the stolen products will be identifiable if found.

“With such a large amount that was stolen, we believe it should be pretty easy to identify the stolen products. And so we’re urging anybody who knows the location of any of these stolen products or if you yourself are in possession of the stolen products, you can be charged with possession of property obtained by crime.”

She added investigators believe some of the whisky may have been moved along Highway 401.

“We believe that some of the alcohol has been transported down the 401. So our officers will work with our neighboring police services to find out more details and then go from there with the investigation.”

CTV public safety analyst and former OPP Commissioner Chris Lewis said alcohol thefts can be lucrative because of the ready black market.

“Booze is a very valuable commodity. It’s like cigarettes. There’s always people out there that will buy cigarettes or alcohol cheap,” said Lewis. “It’s not something that can generally be traced back to who it was stolen from. Like if a car with a serial number or an item like that. So there’s a huge market for it and so somebody has arranged to and has the ability to sell a lot of alcohol.”

Lewis said the targeted nature of the theft suggests planning and inside knowledge.

“Somebody has to have known what was in that. They could have gone through all that and found it was full of dried navy beans or something that would be no use to them whatsoever. So they knew it was a valuable load,” he said. “And so somebody’s got some intelligence there, which suggests more than just a couple of local thugs that decided to steal a truck. It’s ultimately, I’m sure, linked somehow to organized crime in terms of the ability to identify the truck, steal it, and then unload the alcohol. That takes more than a couple of local criminals.”

Investigators are asking area residents and businesses to check their surveillance or dashcam footage for any potential evidence.

Investigators urge residents and business owners in the area to check their surveillance or dashcam footage for possible evidence. Anyone with information is asked to call the Target Base Unit at 519-255-6700, ext. 4350. They can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 519-258-8477 (TIPS) or online at catchcrooks.com.