Counterfeit U.S. Money Being Circulated in West Nipissing.

Police are seeking the public’s assistance in a break and enter investigation that occurred on Island WB-177, a small island near canoe pass, sometime in June. The cottage owner attended his property on August 16th and discovered that the culprit(s) has stolen much of his belongings. The culprit(s) removed the locks from the buildings and made off with a large swimming mat, kitchen utensils, a tool box with various hand tools, a boat safety kit, ropes and hoisting slings. Anyone that may have information or that may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers.

Counterfeit money is being circulated in West Nipissing, $20 and $100 American bills are the currency being used. Three more local businesses complained to police about the fraudulent money being circulated. All three incidents involve men tendering the money, on one occasion the man is described as being in his thirties and driving a small grey car, the other incident involved an older man driving a green pickup truck and the man in the third incident is also believed to be in his thirties wearing a blue and white jersey type shirt with a black hat. Police encourage cashiers to examine the money closely when accepting payment and when in doubt to request another form of payment or to contact authorities.

On August 17th a Holditch Street resident contacted police to report the theft of items from his property. Police learned that someone had entered the man’s shed and made off with his push mower and a battery charger. The investigation is ongoing.

On August 18th police received a complaint of a break and enter. Police responded to the downtown business and upon speaking with the complainant learned that when the employee arrived to open up for business in the morning she found the door ajar. Police secured the premise and discovered the culprit had made off with an undisclosed amount of money. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about these occurrences is asked to contact the West Nipissing Police Service at 705-753-1234. For those who wish to remain anonymous, there are three ways to contact the Near North Crime Stoppers. Call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), text the word “Nipper” plus the tip information to CRIMES (274637), or submit a tip online at nearnorthcrimestoppers.com.