Man charged as police swoop on Cairns Lake St pharmacy
A man has been arrested and charged after nine police descended on the CBD and removed a number of men as startled lunchtime shoppers looked on.
Cairns
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UPDATE 3PM: A man has been charged with theft after a group of people were escorted by police from a Cairns CBD pharmacy around lunchtime on Thursday.
Around 12:30pm, startled passers-by saw the men seated on the footpath outside the Alive Pharmacy on Lake St, while police investigated the incident.
According to a Queensland Police media spokesman, a Parramatta Park man, 22, was arrested and taken into police custody.
”It is alleged that he took a face mask from the pharmacy and made no attempts to pay for it,” the spokesman.
”He has been charged and been bailed to appear in court on March 22,”
The spokesman said that the Parramatta Park resident was also allegedly involved in another CBD theft on Thursday.
“It is alleged he was involved in another shop steal of an item of cutlery from a shop in Sheridan St, earlier in the day,” the spokesman said.
He said that it had been a busy day for officers in the Cairns CBD.
The spokesman said “officers had attended ”at least half a dozen other incidents along Lake Street,” on Thursday.
“These incidents included drug possession and moving on orders,” he said.
Earlier: Police have swooped on the CBD during peak lunchtime trade startling shoppers and staff.
Up to nine police are currently in Lake St outside the Alive Pharmacy where at least four men have been handcuffed.
The men are both seated and standing as police conduct interviews with witnesses inside the pharmacy and on the footpath.
Police are seen with orange juice bottle, brown paper bag and a gym bag.
Alive Pharmacy staff Alison Daniels and Jeree Ross said they were anxious and concerned after a group of people gathered in their store.
The pharmacy assistants said a number of people suddenly walked through the store acting strangely, which made staff uncomfortable.
Ms Daniels said the group “came in during a busy time.”
“We were quite busy serving customers,” she said.
“One man sat down in a chair and was listening to loud music on his phone and another man was carrying an item in a red towel and was dancing in an aisle.”
Ms Daniels said the police were at the pharmacy within a few minutes and quickly whisked the people out of the pharmacy.
“The police just appeared,” she said.
“It all happened so quickly.”
Police have been contacted for comment.
A Cairns Police spokesman confirmed that officers were gathering evidence in relation to the incident.
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Originally published as Man charged as police swoop on Cairns Lake St pharmacy
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