Saanich police are thanking a well-known Victoria cop who helped bust a criminal at a busy Saanich shopping centre.
Victoria police spokesperson Const. Mike Russell arrested a shoplifter Saturday at the Saanich Centre London Drugs on McKenzie Avenue.
The suspect was spotted by store security around 4:15 p.m., grabbing boxes of allergy medication and exiting without paying. Security confronted the man outside the store and told him he was being arrested.
The suspect fled, but the security officer caught up with him a short distance away, and a physical struggle ensued.
Russell, off-duty at the time, happened to be in the area and helped handcuff the suspect who continued to resist arrest.
A 31-year-old New Westminster resident was arrested, with $292 worth of stolen allergy medication in his possession.