PORT Moody Police nabbed a prolific offender twice in the span of an hour during a Tuesday evening shoplifting bust.

On February 13, Port Moody Police officers were set up in Suter Brook Village for a shoplifting project with Loss Prevention Officers (LPOs) at several retailers, after a spike in shoplifting reports in the area. LPOs were to notify police when a theft had been completed so an arrest could be made quickly.

At about 6:15 p.m., an LPO notified police of a man who had stolen food from a store and then left on foot. The suspect was arrested immediately and the items were recovered. As per Criminal Code release legislation, the man was released from scene with conditions as well as a future court date, police said.

However, within an hour of the incident, at approximately 7:15 p.m., LPOs at a nearby store observed the same male steal more than $300 worth of liquor and then flee. Police located the male and arrested him again. This time, given the repetition of the alleged offences, police held the suspect in custody to appear before a judge. Of note, the male has nearly 20 convictions for theft, as well as other Criminal Code convictions, police said.

“Projects like this demonstrate the collaboration between police and local businesses,” said Constable Sam Zacharias, adding that “with help of these retailers we were able to apprehend a prolific offender who remains in police custody at this time.”