RCMP in North Vancouver are searching for a male suspect believed to have attempted to steal thousands of dollars of cheese from a local grocery store.
Police allege the man broke into the Whole Foods store near East 13th Street and Lonsdale Avenue but the crime was thwarted by officers patroling the area.
RCMP officers were on foot patrolling in an area that includes a laneway adjacent to Lonsdale Avenue. While walking near the store, they spotted a cart loaded up with various cheeses, according to the release.
The officers went to investigate the cart when they saw a man appear from a stairwell that was connected to the grocery store. RCMP said the man ran away after seeing the officers. Police attempted to stop the man but were unable to catch him.
RCMP said the officers continue to investigate. They believe the man broke into the store and was interrupted as he tried to steal the cheese.
Store staff said the total cost of the cheese was $12,800.
“Sadly, the cheese was no longer able to be sold after it left the fridge,” RCMP said in the news release.
The RCMP said the incident shows the effectiveness of proactive patrolling of areas by officers.
“People often ask what our officers do when they are not directly responding to active service calls,” said Const. Mansoor Sahak, media relations officer for the North Vancouver RCMP.
“Our response to them, as shown by the work of these officers, is that we are often proactively patrolling high crime areas to prevent and deter crime from occurring,” Sahak said.
“This is an example of intelligence-led policing using information provided directly by our crime analysts to respond to emerging crime trends in North Vancouver and beyond.”
Anyone with information has been asked to contact North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).
