"These were very specific, and hard-to-obtain, barbecue chips."
That's how police in Saanich, Victoria, British Columbia, described a bag of potato chips stolen by two drunk university students from a garage in a crime that Vancouver Island's CTV spent more than three minutes soberly reporting last month. A video of the Onion-like segment posted on YouTube has since been making the social media rounds, and it's easy to see why.
"The students were wrapping up a night of drinking," CTV anchor Hudson Mack says in a serious tone, "when they were overcome by a certain craving—the kind that hits late and hits hard."
According to CTV, the quiet neighborhood where the so-called "BBQ bandits" struck is filled with people who like chips—potato, lime, taco and cheese-flavored—but nothing like Zellers' barbecue-flavored chips, available for a limited time from the Canadian discount chain.
A woman, alone in her home, was woken by a growling chihuahua, Saanich police said. She then heard the female students in her garage and immediately called police, who arrested the potato-chip perpetrators nearby. "The open bag of chips was also found in the area," CTV said.
"It appears that the effervescent chip package in the open garage appeared too yummy to pass up," Saanich Police Sgt. Dean Jantzen said at a press conference to address the BBQ chip burglary.
"I haven't tried these for myself," Jantzen added, "but my understanding is that particular brand of barbecue is quite tasty."
Thankfully, Jantzen had a sense of humor about the crumb-covered crime. "These are first time chip offenders," he said before bursting into laughter.