dufferin lcbo toronto

Tense videos show multiple dramatic incidents at the same Toronto LCBO

A Toronto LCBO has been the target of multiple alleged thefts lately, two of which resulted in dramatic takedowns that were caught on camera and shared to social media in the same day.

The clips both come from the same private TikTok account and were filmed in front of the Dufferin & Eglinton location, which seems to be getting a lot of criminal action, though staff on site Wednesday say that stealing is a problem across all LCBOs.

In the first post, the filmer can be heard saying "it's too early to be stealing, sir" as she watches a man apprehended by two others outside the retailer's front doors.

With an LCBO employee standing off to the side, the two plainclothes individeuals — who could simply be helpful Samaritans or, more likely, the store's undercover security — bind the perpetrator's hands and walk him back into the building.

"The LCBO is a hot spot, I'm telling you," the woman holding the camera says as the footage ends.

Another video, shot from the same exact perspective, shows the same distressed LCBO staffer in the same outfit — whether it was filmed the same day as the other, though, is unclear — watching another alleged thief get detained, though this time, the worker can be seen on the phone with, ostensibly, the authorities.

Two different men in street clothes, meanwhile, are busy wrestling the suspect up against the exterior wall and attempting to tie his hands behind his back, a bag of broken booze bottles strewn on the ground beside the hubbub.

The guards yell things like "hands behind your back," stop resisting" and "I'm going to arrest you for theft" as a woman who appears to be known to the man tries to intervene and is repeatedly shoved away.

"Call 9-1-1," one of the duo says to bystanders at one point before escorting the culprit back inside.

As many have pointed out in response to the recordings, it is well known that LCBO policy prohibits staff from touching, chasing, or otherwise getting involved in such incidents for the safety of themselves and others, which is perhaps why the company is targeted so often.

It seems some stores have enrolled the help of private security in response to an uptick in pilfering.

Lead photo by

@michellereid845


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