Edmonton police are searching for a suspect believed to be responsible for three separate pharmacy robberies in less than a week.
The first incident happened around 4:50 p.m. on April 3. The Edmonton Police Service said Monday a man with a knife went into a pharmacy in the area of 61 Street and 90 Avenue and handed an employee a note demanding narcotics.
The pharmacist complied and opened the safe. The suspect filled up a bag with an unknown quantity of narcotics before leaving the pharmacy on foot, police said.
The second robbery happened around 4:45 p.m. on April 7, when a man entered a pharmacy near 167 Avenue and 82 Street. The suspect approached the counter and handed the pharmacist a note demanding narcotics.
The suspect then took out a knife, walked behind the counter and demanded the pharmacist open the safe, police said. The suspect filled a bag with drugs and left the area.
The third incident happened on April 8 at around 10:30 a.m. Police said a man walked into a pharmacy in the area of 137 Avenue and 66 Street, went behind the pharmacy counter and once again handed over a note demanding drugs.
The pharmacist opened the safe and the man took off on foot with various drugs, police said. In this case, the suspect did not use a weapon.
Police believe the same man is responsible for all three robberies. He is described as being in his early 20s and about six feet tall. He was wearing a hoodie and hat in each robbery.
The EPS said its robbery section is working with various stakeholders to implement time-delay safes in pharmacies.
“Many pharmacies are moving to time-delay safes in response to the recent spate of robberies,” Det. David Green said in a media release Monday.
“The time-delay-safe initiative, which delays the opening of pharmacy safes by often 10 minutes, was first implemented in B.C. and has successfully helped lower the number of pharmacy robberies in that jurisdiction.”
Near the end of 2020, Calgary police issued a warning following a spike in pharmacy robberies in that city.
Anyone with information on the Edmonton robberies or the suspect is asked to contact police at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.