Police in Nanaimo are looking for two men suspected of stealing cosmetics worth about $1,000 from the Shoppers Drug Mart in Country Club Centre.
The theft happened at about 10 p.m. Tuesday. One of the suspects was carrying a purple duffle bag that they filled with cosmetics and then fled the store and were last seen running toward Best Buy.
One of the suspects is white, 6-foot-1 with an athletic build, and was wearing glasses, a black hat and tan jacket. The second suspect is also white, about 6-foot-2, skinny and missing most of his upper teeth. He wore a black hat and carried a black backpack.
An employee at Whittaker and Associates accounting firm at on Wesley Street was also victim of a cosmetics-related theft Nov. 1.
An employee told police a man walked into the firm’s offices at about 1:20 p.m. and started rummaging through a co-worker’s desk and then walked out with a cosmetics bag.
The suspect identified himself as David Cartier and was described as white, in his late 50s, 5-foot-6, 140 pounds and was wearing dark clothing.
Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, said police see thefts of such things as cosmetics because there is money to be made on the black market and the penalties for these kinds of crimes, usually theft under $5,000, are not as severe as for breaking and entering, for example.
“It’s the same type of market for why they steal food from stores,” O’Brien said. “The jeopardy is less than for doing a break and enter … it’s a lot easier to steal cosmetics … or steal meat products, like high-end meats, and sell those as well. There’s a lot of money to be made and we see that a lot.”
Anyone with information about these thefts is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a tip online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.
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