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Five coffee shops in Edmonton and three in St. Albert were victimized on Jan. 17 by thieves who stole their wall-mounted hand dryers, according to police.

RCMP and Edmonton police believe they may be connected incidents.

READ MORE: RCMP seek tips after guns stolen from central Alberta sporting goods store

In St. Albert, RCMP responded to complaints of Dyson wall-mounted hand dryers being stolen from three separate Starbucks locations between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

RCMP described the suspect as a man wearing glasses who had a heavier build, short dark hair and full facial hair.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, 2020 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., St. Albert RCMP responded to a complaint of theft of a Dyson, wall mounted hand dryer, from three separate Starbucks locations in St Albert. This person may also be involved in similar thefts in other jurisdictions. Courtesy: St. Albert RCMP

Global News reached out to Starbucks for comment but the company declined.

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On the same day, Edmonton police were contacted about five hand dryer thefts from coffee shops along Gateway Boulevard and Calgary Trail.

READ MORE: 3 facing charges after catalytic converter thefts in Edmonton

Edmonton’s police chief said criminals are looking for materials that they can sell.

“The catalytic converters, some of the Dyson hand dryers — obviously, it’s the precious metal in them… That’s what would-be thieves would target,” Dale McFee said.

“They take it to get what is not traceable… as cash.”

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He said police forces across Alberta are taking steps to look specifically at the issue of metal theft.

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“It’s going to take a different approach to deal with this,” McFee said, “both in enforcement model and certainly a regulation model, in relation to how this is reported and [looking] at all mechanisms to stop this from happening.”

McFee said property crime should not be looked at as “less serious” crime.

“Property crime is significantly related to meth use… I think property crime is feeding a lot of our violent crime. We’re refocusing in how we can best deal with that,” he said.