peel police

Police bust LCBO thieves with $115K of stolen booze and perfume in Mississauga

For those a-holes looking to steal from retailers right now, the pickings are pretty slim, given that most stores are shuttered to the public and that those still open have non-essential items cordoned off.

But during stressful pandemic times and the excuse it's given those of us who imbibe to drink even more, what's a more eligible item than alcohol?

So might have been the thought process of a duo who decided to hit up a string of LCBOs in Mississauga and steal an unfathomable amount of liquor.

Through the thefts, which began in February, the two culprits managed to turn a profit by reselling the pilfered spirits to third-party businesses.

Peel Regional Police finally busted the boozy bandits after an investigation, uncovering a whopping $115,000 worth of alcohol and other stolen goods, including luxury perfumes.

Forty-two-year-old Victor Karanikolov and 56-year-old Janusz Hapunik, both men from Mississauga, were charged with a number of crimes, among them multiple counts of fraud, theft, and trafficking in stolen goods. They just faced court in Brampton last week.

The pair probably would have made a killing off of all those Toronto partiers who've been hosting illicit gatherings with tens of thousands of dollars worth of libations in the middle of a provincewide emergency shutdown and stay-at-home order — and thankfully, those idiots were busted and 24 of them charged, too.

Lead photo by

Peel Regional Police


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