A successful, “large-scale” retail theft operation earlier this month resulted in the arrest of 32 people, Richmond RCMP said on Thursday.
According to police, all the arrests took place over a two-day period, from June 19 to 20.
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“Security representatives from Richmond Centre Mall, Lansdowne Mall, Toys R Us, London Drugs, TJX Canada, Overwaitea Food Group, Superstore, Apple Store, The Bay, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Walmart all participated along with our community partners from Metro Vancouver Transit Police,” police said.
During the sting, “multiple arrests ensued due to the combined efforts by police and loss prevention officers.”
Among the 32 people arrested, the results of the operation also showed:
- Four of the suspects were youths;
- Nine of the suspects had no permanent residence or were of no fixed address;
- Most suspects were from outside of Richmond;
- Some suspects had pre-existing outstanding warrants from jurisdictions outside Richmond;
- Some subjects had previous conditions from prior arrests – four such breaches were observed.
- The most popular items that were stolen were: meat, liquor, candy, and clothing
“Almost two thirds of those arrested in this operation weren’t from Richmond,” said Richmond RCMP Sgt. Simon Lee.
However, a “large majority” of those arrested were known to police, he added.
This included one person who was apprehended twice on the same day for theft.
“Another suspect that we arrested was identified from a previous retail theft operation we conducted,” said Lee. “If you are a criminal and you come to Richmond for the sole purpose of committing a crime, we will catch you.”
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