Toronto police arrest 10 young people in connection with pharmacy robberies

Toronto police have made 10 arrests and laid 60 charges in response to more than two dozen armed robberies that took place over the last few months.

Insp. Rich Harrissaid 26 pharmacies in the city were robbed between Dec. 8, 2022 and Feb. 10 of this year.

Police say the robberies were allegedly committed by a group of young men who used stolen vehicles to travel to pharmacies where they then would use a handgun, knife, or the threat of physical violence to take control of the stores and demand narcotics and cash.

In most cases, police say, they were successful.

"Thankfully," Harris said, there have been no reports of injuries.

However, Harris said the force is concerned by the age of those allegedly involved in the robberies.

Of the 10 people arrested that police announced Wednesday, six were under the age of 18. The accused face multiple charges including robbery, weapons charges, and possessing property obtained by crime. The youngest of those accused include a 14-year-old boy from Toronto and a 15-year-old boy from Toronto.

Last year, Toronto had a "record number of pharmacy robberies," according to Harris, and 69 per cent of them were committed by young people. To date, there have been 45 robberies in 2023 compared with 11 over the same period of time in 2022, Harris said. So far this year, he said, 67 per cent of the robberies this year have allegedly been carried out by young people.