The V.I. Raiders have been sacked again by thieves.
Nanaimo’s junior football club suffered another damaging off-field loss last week, as thousands of dollars worth of equipment was stolen from the team’s practice facility at Caledonia Park.
According to an RCMP press release, an estimated $50,000 worth of gear was stolen overnight Aug. 31, including helmets, jerseys, pads, footballs, tents, electronic equipment, tools and more. Police say they found “significant pry marks” to the building’s metal door and investigators say it must have taken 30-45 minutes for thieves to haul away the stolen equipment.
“At least two people with two or more vehicles had to be involved,” said reserve Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson, in the release.
The Raiders were also victimized by a purposely set fire in the tower the week before football season, which also resulted in the loss of thousands of dollars worth of gear.
“I am beyond frustrated. We’re trying our best to provide a positive development experience for these kids but it seems that just as we get past one setback, we’re hit with another one,” said Josh Williams, Raiders general manager, in the press release. “There is no sugar-coating or minimizing the impact this theft will have on our team moving forward. Right now, I really don’t know how we’re going to recover from it.”
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP’s non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file No. 2022-30744.
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editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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