Meat Theft in Burlington Has Police Beefing Up Search for Suspects

A pair of suspected meat thieves who made off with $310 worth of prime rib and steak from a Burlington grocery store are being sought by Halton police.

A pair of suspected meat thieves who made off with $310 worth of prime rib and steak from a Burlington grocery store are being sought by Halton police.

The suspects were “selecting the expensive cuts of meat,” said Const. Naresh Dabas.

The alleged incident took place at Longo’s on Fairview St. on July 17 at 7:50 p.m.

A manager on duty saw the man and woman enter the store, say investigators, pick up seven packages of meat, then head to a different aisle where items were placed in a backpack.

They allegedly walked out “without making any attempts to pay” for the items, said Dabas.

The duo made off with five packages of Angus beef prime rib roast and two packs of boneless rib steak.

Investigators deal with sticky fingers in supermarkets “quite a bit,” said Dabas.

“We get calls from all the big chains.”

But police aren’t necessarily seeing a spike in meat thefts across the city.

“It’s barbecue season,” said Dabas, adding he hopes “they’ve done this for their own personal use and they’re not reselling it somewhere.”

Anyone with information is asked to phone 905-825-4747 ext. 2351 or CrimeStoppers 1-800-222-8477.

Photo courtesy of Halton Regional Police