Blueberries, melons and more: 5 of Hamilton's strangest thefts
CBC News | Posted: February 11, 2017 11:45 AM | Last Updated: February 11, 2017
Thieves have made off with some unusual items in recent years in Hamilton
Sometimes, when looking at what gets stolen in Hamilton, you can't help but think — "why?"
That happened when $100,000 worth of blueberries and other fruits were stolen in Stoney Creek last Sunday.
"Who steals fruit?" you might ask.
Well, that's a fair question — but it's not the weirdest thing to be swiped in Hamilton.
Take these examples, for instance:
$50,000 worth of honeydew melons stolen on New Year's Eve
Someone was ringing in 2016 with clandestine fruit.
It happened on New Year's Eve 2015, when someone stole a 16-metre tractor-trailer filled with honeydew melons from a parking compound in the city.
The melons were destined for Hamilton-area grocery stores, police say.
At the time, investigators bemoaned that there were no serial numbers on the melons.
40,000 pounds of beef stolen
Continuing a trend of taking off with trailers full of food, someone stole a whopping 40,000 pounds of beef in the city back in 2013.
It happened at a commercial truck yard in Ancaster, where the suspects stole a tractor trailer full of $100,000 worth of beef.
The beef had come from Texas, and was supposed to be delivered to a customer at the start of the week.
$10K in merchandise stolen from local fetish, clothing shop
This is a niche one.
There was a $10,000 theft of merchandise from a central Hamilton fetish and clothing store last August.
One of those items was a custom made, one of a kind corset, as well as many "custom leather items."
34 birds stolen from Ancaster home
Hamilton police ended up getting called to a home in Ancaster back in November, after 34 exotic birds were stolen out of a shed.
Twelve of those were forbes tricolour parrot finches, which police say are "rare and harder to acquire."
Still… who steals birds?
Thieves make clean getaway stealing $17K in shampoo and mouthwash
Cue the clean getaway jokes.
Someone broke into an east Hamilton trucking business in the summer of 2013 and made off with nearly $17,000 worth of shampoo and mouthwash.
At the time, police said it wasn't clear if they were specifically targeting that merchandise, or that was just the easiest thing to grab.