Police in Montréal, Canada say “masked and disguised individuals” stole food worth around $3,000 CAD (around €1,855 or £1,620) from a supermarket last week, CBC reports.

A group calling itself Robins des ruelles — Robins of the Alleys — later took responsibility for the theft in a social media post which said it was justified by supermarket profits.

The activist group distributed the food under a Christmas tree in a public square and donated the leftovers to community fridges.

In the statement, the group said: “A handful of corporations are holding our basic needs hostage. They continue to stifle the population, siphoning off as much money as possible, simply because they can.

“For us, that’s theft, and they are the real criminals.”

Police are continuing to investigate the incident and have so far made no arrests.