Calgary police looking for pharmacy robbery suspects

Officers with the Calgary Police Service (CPS) are looking for two suspects they believe are connected to several pharmacy robberies.

Police say on June 15 two suspects allegedly threatened pharmacy staff with a gun in multiple situations.

CPS says on Wednesday at around 9 a.m. the suspects entered the Pharmasave on Edmonton Trail NE and tried to rob the place with a gun. When they couldn’t get any money or drugs from the pharmacy, they ran away.

Police say there were no injuries reported in the robbery attempt.

That same morning less than an hour later, police say the two went to another Pharmasave location on Hidden Creek Drive NW. They tried getting into the pharmacy’s safe, and when they couldn’t, they ran away.

Police add at 10:15 a.m. the pair entered an IDA pharmacy on Centre Street N and threatened staff with a gun. This time they were able to run away with an undisclosed amount of cash and drugs in hand. Police say nobody was hurt in this incident.

Officers say they believe these two suspects are also responsible for nine other robberies at various pharmacies across the city that happened on Tuesday and Thursday at these locations:

• Pharmasave located at 3803 26 Avenue S.W.
• Riverside Remedies Pharmacy located at 630 1 Avenue N.E.
• The Medicine Shop pharmacy located at 5440 4 Street N.W.
• Cornerstone IDA Pharmasave located at 5102 Rundlehorn Drive N.E.
• Coventry Pharmacy and Travel Clinic located at 110-790 Coventry Drive N.E.
• Copperfield Pharmasave located at 222-15566 McIvor Blvd. S.E.
• Glenbrooke Pharmasave located at 3803 26 Avenue S.W.
• Pharmasave located at 79 Martindale Blvd. N.E.
• Ogden Pharmacy located at 1603 62 Avenue S.E.

“Pharmacists provide essential services to Calgarians and the level of violence that we are seeing in these robberies is unacceptable,” CPS S. Sgt. Rod Harbidge said. “We remain dedicated to thoroughly investigating these disturbing and concerning incidents. We believe the same two suspects are connected to this recent series of robberies and once they are located and in custody, occurrences are expected to decline. In the meantime, we continue to work with pharmacy owners and employees to implement crime prevention recommendations.”

Police say pharmacy owners and employees should follow these tips to avoid becoming a victim of robbery:

• Trust your instincts. If you witness suspicious behaviour, contact police.
• Minimize the amount of cash and drugs readily available on site.
• Keep safes locked at all times.
• Utilize a panic alarm for employees.
• Place height strip tape on the interior side of the main entrance door.
• Keep any doors separating the pharmacy from the store locked.
• CCTV Tips:
  • Test your cameras to make sure they are working.
  • Ensure the quality of the image(s) is sufficient for identifying suspects.
  • Have purposeful focus.
  • Position at least one camera to have a level line of sight of patrons.
  • Ensure staff can access video content at any time and if possible, move the video to a cloud-based storage. After an event, this footage will be required as soon as possible for descriptions.
  • If a robbery occurs, call 9-1-1 immediately and lock the doors to the premise after the offender leaves to preserve evidence until police arrive.

Anyone with information about these incidents, or the people involved, is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.