A boat thief well known to police will serve out the remainder of his conditional sentence behind bars after allegedly stealing another boat.
The 45-year-old man was arrested early Sunday morning after police found him with a boat stolen from Nanaimo in mid February.
The arrest came after a rise in boat thefts from marinas in Nanaimo Harbour in recent weeks, which prompted police to increase patrols and have Harbour Watch and the harbour patrol keep an eye out for suspicious activities.
The crew of a Nanaimo RCMP patrol vessel spotted a small boat near the cruise ship terminal and recognized a man with it who is well known to not only police in central Vancouver Island but also to local boaters and marina operators.
A check revealed the suspect also had a midnight curfew, was serving a conditional sentence for two previous charges of possession of stolen property and the four-metre Lund boat with him was stolen.
He was arrested and will spend the final three months behind bars.
Police are not releasing the identity of the suspect because he is not facing new charges for possession of stolen property following Sunday’s arrest.