Stolen trucks used in similar break-ins 9 days apart in Errington, B.C.

Mounties north of Nanaimo are investigating a pair of almost identical business break-ins that happened a little more than a week apart. (Oceanside RCMP)

Mounties north of Nanaimo are investigating a pair of almost identical business break-ins that happened a little more than a week apart.

In each case, suspects used a stolen pickup truck to drive to businesses on Alberni Highway in Errington in the early hours of the morning, pried open the door of a business, made off with stolen goods and ditched the truck on Price Road later in the morning.

Oceanside RCMP shared these details in a news release Wednesday. The detachment – which serves several communities north of Nanaimo, including Parksville and Qualicum Beach – said the first incident happened on May 30 around 4:40 a.m. at a business in the 1400 block of Alberni Highway.

The second incident happened Wednesday, June 8, around 3:30 a.m. at a business in the same area.

On the first occasion, police arrived to find that "large amounts of liquor" had been stolen. The second time, officers found that cash had been taken.

Later each morning, the stolen truck was recovered on Price Road, police said.

"If you are someone who is regularly out and about in the overnight and early morning hours and see something or someone suspicious, please call us so we can check it out," said Sgt. Shane Worth in the news release.

Oceanside RCMP asks anyone with information on these incidents to call the detachment at 250-248-6111.