Several people were arrested at Capri Centre Mall on Jan. 11 following a Kelowna RCMP operation.
Officers in uniform and plain clothes conducted surveillance and enforcement starting in the morning, catching the first thief within 45 minutes.
Over the next few hours, officers arrested a total of six individuals resulting in the recommendation of several charges of theft and detaining one man with numerous warrants for his arrest.
The area has seen an increase in thefts and other reported incidents to the police, according to Const. Mike Gauthier with the community safety unit (CSU).
“The boldness of some of these thefts have become concerning, including one man who grabbed about $50 worth of merchandise, made no efforts of concealing it, and then simply walked out,” said Gauthier.
“Fortunately, he was noticed and taken into custody immediately.”
The goal of the operation was to reduce the incidents and target repeat offenders.
“Expect more,” said Sgt. Scott Powrie of the CSU. “We have additional projects happening soon where we will be working with our local retail loss prevention officers throughout the city to focus on apprehending repeat and violent offenders.”
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@GaryBarnes109
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