DETROIT, MI – Ah, Detroit. Bustling metropolitan of my home state and also the birthplace of Motown, the Tigers, and…pickle thievery? This looks to be the case in the latest round of food-focused news coming out of Motor City. Some innovative bandits of a new sort have apparently absconded with $13,867 worth of products from artisan pickle maker McClure’s.
“I have done a lot of things in my 18 years as a police officer, but didn’t think I would be setting aside other work to be out looking for a pickle bandit,” Detroit Detective Mike Pacteles told The Detroit News.
Our pickled tale first starts with the illicit nabbing itself. McClure’s employees alerted authorities to the uncommon crime after noticing a substantial amount of product missing from its St. Aubin warehouse.
After inspecting its inventory, the company accounted for the following transformed cucumber products that were nabbed from its operations:
- 14 five-gallon pickle containers
- 18 one-gallon pickle containers
- 58 cases of pickle chips
- Bloody Mary mix
Fast-forward and more pickle debauchery is unveiled with company employees seeing the aforementioned McClure’s products at stores that the company does not distribute to. Five stores were found selling the pickles in question at equally as questionable “bargain prices.” For instance, jars that normally retail for $9-10 per jar were being offered for $3-4 a jar.
The pickle plot continues to thicken as any stores as Dectective Pacteles stated that stores selling the improperly procured products could face felony charges for receiving and concealing stolen property. If convicted, store managers or owners could face weighty fines and prison time.
“We assume that this is an inside job involving employees or former employees, and will be able to eventually identify the person or persons involved, and they could be facing theft and embezzlement charges,” he stated, asserting several suspects have already been produced in the investigation, and the stores selling these products may be facing inspections.
Will the pickle thieves be fully revealed, returning my favorite briny treats to their rightful place? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow to find out.
