That’s a lot of cheddar.
North Vancouver RCMP are looking for a suspect they say tried to steal almost $13,000 worth of cheese.
The incident happened more than a month ago. On Sept. 29, at about 4 a.m., an officer on patrol came across a cart full of cheese in the alley behind Whole Foods in Central Lonsdale. The situation smelled off, like a ripe Limburger, and officers went in for a closer look. Around that time, a suspicious man appeared out of the Whole Foods stairwell who, upon seeing the officers, promptly cheesed it.
The investigation revealed the man had broken into the Whole Foods storage area and was in the process of making off with the fermented dairy goods, which staff said had a street value of $12,800. Because they’d been removed from the store’s fridges, they could no longer be sold.
In a press release, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Const. Mansoor Sahak said the case is a good example of the boys in blue using their police sense to detect wrongdoing.
“We are often proactively patrolling high-crime areas to prevent and deter crime from occurring. 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,” he said.
Although they couldn’t nab the suspect in their trap, Sahak said police are hopeful the public can help them sniff out the lactose larcenist.
“While this was great work by our officers, the investigation is not complete. We are releasing CCTV video of the suspect in hopes that someone may recognize the suspect and call police,” he said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 and quote file #2024-19909. Those who wish to provide information but want to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
