Police investigate yet another Iqaluit robbery

A robber made off with an undisclosed amount of cash from a till at the Arctic Ventures Marketplace Feb. 17. (FILE PHOTO)

Iqaluit police are investigating another local robbery after a thief stole cash from one of the city’s main grocery stores Feb. 17.

An individual approached a till at Arctic Ventures Marketplace around 9 p.m., Lilian Choi, a spokesperson for the store’s owner, Arctic Co-ops Ltd., said Feb. 18.

The robber then left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

It’s not clear at this point if the suspect used a weapon, but there were no injuries. Police have not indicated whether they have arrested anyone in connection with the incident.

Arctic Co-ops said the store was fully staffed at the time.

Since last November, Iqaluit has seen at least four armed robberies at local stores, a worrying trend in Nunavut’s largest community which, according to the 2011 census, was home to about 6,700 people — an increase of 8.3 per cent from 2006.

Just last week, a man produced a pocket knife at the cash register of a Plateau neighbourhood convenience store and demanded that a cashier empty its contents into a bag.

No one was injured, but police have since arrested and charged Mason Nuqingak with one count of armed robbery and two charges of breaching a probation order.

Other recent armed robberies of Iqaluit stores occurred at the Apex Road Quickstop convenience store in January, and at a Quickstop store located in the Inuksugait Plaza, in December.

RCMP are not currently saying whether those robberies are related.