Police sound alarm after series of armed Kijiji robberies

Police are warning Edmontonians after a number of reports of armed robberies involving the sale of cellphones over a 10-day period this month.

Between June 8 and Tuesday, northeast division officers received four reports of a man who arranged through Kijiji to buy cellphones from sellers before robbing them of the phones, police said in a news release Wednesday.

The man allegedly gave the sellers a fake name and phone number and, in two cases, used a female name during interactions over Kijiji. Arrangements were made to meet either at Northtown or Northgate shopping centre or Northgate Transit Centre.

Police say each time the man met with the seller, he asked them to unlock the phone and then robbed them after showing what appeared to be a handgun in a holster.

In two cases, when a lone female seller arrived at the location, the man got into their vehicle with them before robbing them.

Each time, the man walked away after threatening that he had a photo of their licence plate and knew how to find them.

The man is believed to be between 20 and 30 years old, fivefoot-seven to five-foot-nine and “an olive to tan” skin tone. He reportedly wears a black baseball cap.

“We want to remind citizens to use caution when meeting up with strangers,” said Det. Calvin Mah.

“Arrange to meet in a safe, visible and public location, not in your home or vehicle, bring another person with you, tell a family member or friend where and when you are doing the transaction and what time you expect to be finished, and pay attention to your instincts. If something feels off at any point, abandon the sale.”