$70K worth of iPhones stolen from Portage la Prairie store: RCMP

A photo of a suspect sought by RCMP in connection with the theft of $70,000 worth of iPhones from a Portage la Prairie business. (Manitoba RCMP)

RCMP are searching for three suspects after roughly $70,000 worth of iPhones were stolen from a store in Manitoba last month, an incident they believe is linked to similar thefts in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

According to RCMP, the incident took place at roughly 9:30 p.m. on March 9 at a business on Sissons Drive in Portage la Prairie, Man.

Mounties said two men and one woman went into the business and to its electronics area. They said the woman distracted the employee, while the men broke into a locked cabinet and stole about 60 iPhones.

RCMP said the business did not discover the iPhones were stolen until the next morning.

The total value of the theft is over $70,000. RCMP said they believe it is related to similar incidents at stores in Swift Current, Sask., Brooks, Alta. and Medicine Hat, Alta.

A photo of one of the three suspects was released. Mounties are searching for a man in his 30s who was wearing a white jacket and a blue baseball cap.

Police are also looking for a man in his 30s who was wearing a black and white baseball cap, and a woman in her 30s wearing a long, white jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to call RCMP or Crime Stoppers.