Thousands of dollars worth of tropical fish stolen from Ottawa Valley restaurant
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the theft of "several thousand" dollars worth of tropical fish stolen from an Upper Ottawa Valley restaurant last week.
OPP say a break and enter was reported to police at a restaurant in the Town of Beachburg in the early morning hours of April 11.
Beachburg is located about 25 kilometres south of Pembroke and 130 kilometres northwest of downtown Ottawa.
Police say the items stolen included an unspecified quantity of cash and tropical fish swimming inside an aquarium at the restaurant.
The empty fish tank at the Beachburg Restaurant. Tropical fish in the tank were stolen during a break-in on April 11, 2024. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)
OPP spokesperson Const. Shawn Peever said the restaurant reported the fish were worth thousands of dollars.
"In my 27 years of policing, I have never heard of tropical fish being stolen from an aquarium," Peever told CTV News on Tuesday.
The restaurant owner, who did not want to speak on camera, says the thieves not only stole the fish, but the aquarium light, plants and fish food.
The owner says they've had tropical fish for over 30 years and drew the eye of customers young and old.
OPP is asking the public to keep an eye out.
"If anyone notices anything for sale on social media or an online marketplace, or even if they see the fish in person somehow, then that information is something that we'd like to know," Peever said.
The investigation is continuing with the assistance of an OPP Forensic Identification Services (FIS) officer.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP at 613-732-3332 or Pembroke/Renfrew County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or at www.valleytips.ca.
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Dylan Dyson
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