Five suspects have been arrested and others are sought for a $500,000 liquor theft that occurred last month.
Windsor Police have arrested five individuals and are asking for the public's help in identifying two others involved in the theft.
Shortly before 9 p.m. on May 17, several suspects stole a semi-tractor trailed loaded with over 1,000 boxes of Crown Royal whiskey from a fenced-in facility in the 3300 block of Devon Drive.
The trailer was then found abandoned in the 4000 block of County Road 46 the following day. Officers also determined that a cube van had also been stolen from a business in the 1000 block of Walker Road.
Police state that the retail value of the stolen alcohol is more than $500,000. They add that 66 of the 1,072 boxes have been recovered, but the rest of the whiskey remains missing.
On June 5, five individuals of Windsor and Essex County were arrested. A 46-year-old man faces nine charges including two counts of theft over $5,000, two counts of possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking exceeding $5,000, theft of a motor vehicle, among others.
A 57-year-old man is facing six charges including two counts of possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking exceeding $5,000, wearing a disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, among others.
A 44-year-old woman faces four charges including two counts of possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking exceeding $5,000, possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking exceeding $5,000, and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
A 27-year-old man has been charged with possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking exceeding $5,000 and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
And a 49-year-old man has been charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Windsor Police Inspector David Deluca says they continue to search a number of locations for the whiskey.
"We have several locations that are still under investigation. We have executed two warrants so far at locations, we've recovered 66 of the 1,072 boxes that are missing."
He says the whiskey is a valuable commodity
"At this point I think it's sort of obvious that this an easy product to move undetected which makes it quite valuable. The non-retail value of the items stolen was $61,000, however the retail value is over half-a-million. So, it's a very valuable commodity."
Deluca confirmed that the stolen whiskey was from the Diageo manufacturing facility in Amherstburg.
"So I can't speak to what Diageo is doing itself, however, I can say they have been fully cooperative in this investigation."
He says he can't speak to whether or not this was an inside job at the Diageo facility.
The first suspect is described as a white male, approximately 40 years of age, with a dark-coloured full beard. At the time of the incident, he wore a baseball hat and a dark-coloured hoodie.
The second suspect is described as a white male, approximately 30 years of age. At the time of the incident, he wore a dark-coloured hoodie with the hood up, black shorts, and black shoes.
The investigation is ongoing and other arrests are anticipated.