LCBO stores in Guelph seeing a surge in alcohol thefts

Guelph police are reporting a rise in liquor thefts. CTV’s Hannah Schmidt finds out why the LCBO may be the target.

Nearly $1,000 worth of alcohol was stolen Sunday from an LCBO store in Guelph.

Guelph Police said a man and woman went into a Wellington Street location around 5:45 p.m., grabbed six bottles and then walked out of the store without paying.

The theft, they added, wasn’t an isolated incident.

Police said it is the latest in a growing, and concerning, trend.

“So far, in 2025, we’ve had approximately 20 of these types of thefts from various LCBO locations across the city,” said Scott Tracey with the Guelph Police Service. “While the stores are open, the suspect simply walks in, picks up a number of bottles, sometimes carrying them in bags or other things, and then just walks out of the store with them.”

The thieves are also targeting one area of the store.

“Generally hard liquor,” said Tracey. “They’re not stealing beer or wine.”

Sunday’s incident wasn’t as costly as some of the other reported thefts.

“In some of the recent ones it’s been $3,000 or $4,000 at one time,” Tracey explained.

Investigators have not yet found a connection between the incidents.

“We simply don’t know if they’re related because we haven’t caught the suspect yet,” said Tracey.

Police don’t believe all of the robberies were crimes of convenience.

“They are significant thefts,” Tracey explained. “Obviously there’s an element of organization because of the fact that it’s more than one person working together to commit the thefts.”

Why LCBO stores are being targeted

According to Chris Lewis, a former OPP commissioner and a public safety analyst for CTV News, alcohol thefts have been reported across the province.

“To generalize, it is most often related to poverty, addiction, mental health issues or all of the above, because they’re just individuals trying to get money,” he said. “Some see [the LCBO] as an easy mark because they realize that liquor store employees aren’t going to tackle them and try and fight them to get the alcohol back.”

For workers, stepping in to stop a thief is risky.

“It’s not worth what could be the outcome,” Lewis said. “[They] don’t know if these people have weapons or are maybe in some altered state due to the consumption of substances. We certainly don’t encourage people to try to protect product at the risk of putting themselves in jeopardy.”

Curbing the problem, meantime, will be challenging for stores who fear coming across as “unfriendly” to customers.

“Things like product placement, access to the store through turnstiles or whatever,” he said. “Some of those hard measures may add up.”

CTV News reached out to the LCBO for comment.

The Crown agency said they use multiple methods to mitigate or prevent theft, including CCTV, security guards and a plain-clothed task force.

Their statement continued: “Our employees receive regular, mandatory training in theft detection, deterrence and reporting. This training focuses on personal safety, observation and gathering information to support police investigations. LCBO employees who physically confront shoplifters put themselves, their colleagues and our customers at risk.”

Suspect descriptions

One of the suspects in the Wellington Street incident is described as a man between the age of 30 and 35-years-old, approximately 6’0 with dark, receding hair. He was last seen wearing a grey jacket, red hoodie and black shoes with white soles.

The other suspect is described as a woman approximately 45 and 50-years-old, between 5’2” to 5’5”, with black hair. She was last seen wearing a green jacket, black pants, a grey-striped toque, glasses and light brown boots.