> In 2011 and 2012, almost 19 million Canadian dollars worth of which product wasstolen in Quebec?And the answer: maple syrup. The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers maintains a strategic reserve ofmaple syrup in several rural towns. Over the course of several months in 2011and 2012, the contents of over 9,500 barrels were stolen from one of thefacilities. Seventeen men were arrested in the sticky heist.The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, or FPAQ, is essentially theauthority on maple syrup. Their syrup accounts for about 77% of global supply,and have been referred to as a maple syrup cartel. The Federation was formed in1966 when a group of maple syrup producers in Quebec participated in a jointplan to collectively market maple syrup. The movement spread across Quebec tobecome the powerful coalition it is today. They say time is money– clearly they have never dealt in maple syrup. Over thecourse of the 2011-2012 heist, an estimated $18.7 million was lost in stolensyrup. In fact, the sticky substance is so precious that a single barrel goesfor over $1300. That's 26x more expensive than crude oil!About 12.5% of the entire reserve was missing at the end of the great maplesyrup heist. Naturally, the following investigation was the largest in Quebechistory. Over 250 investigators questioned over 300 witnesses and searched over40 houses, all over the course of a few months. When the dust settled (or,rather, when the syrup hardened), the ringleaders of the sticky heist were putbehind bars, many of which are still serving time today. To learn more about the heist and the syrup masterminds that supply our planet,check out this Vanity Fair article[https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12/maple-syrup-heist].