VAN BUREN TWP. (WWJ) – A man accused of multiple pharmacy robberies in the Western Wayne County area has been arrested.

Kristopher Kukola is accused of robbing at least five pharmacies between late May and early July and he was apparently caught after a pharmacist gave him a decoy pill bottle with a GPS tracker during his latest robbery, according to a report from WDIV.

He is accused of robbing the same pharmacy in Van Buren Township twice in the span of two weeks.

Van Buren Township Police Chief Jason Wright tells WWJ’s Sandra McNeill the suspect entered the CVS on Belleville Road one night in early June and told the pharmacist he had a gun.

After that pharmacy was hit for a second time, police began working the case and soon discovered it was likely related to other robberies in Western Wayne County and Eastern Washtenaw County.

That’s when police got involved with the FBI and detectives from neighboring towns and it “morphed into a much larger case,” Wright said.

The suspect demanded painkillers like Vicodin, Norcos and Oxycodone, as well as other drugs including Xanax and Adderall. Wright wasn’t sure how many pills Kukola got his hands on, but said it was “a large amount.”

Kukola also allegedly hit pharmacies in Saline, Ann Arbor and Milan, according to WDIV. His age and hometown were not clear.

During his last robbery, at a CVS on Dexter Street in Milan, he left the store with $300,000 to $400,000 worth of pills, according to WDIV.

He also left with a GPS tracker, which ultimately led to his capture.

The report says the pharmacist slipped the decoy pill bottle into a bag along with other pills, and authorities eventually tracked him down.

During the search for Kukola, authorities say he ran from police near an apartment complex in Belleville. At one point, authorities had set up a perimeter around the area and a man told them “the guy you’re looking for ran that way.”

It turned out that tipster was actually Kukola, according to the report from WDIV.

During a search of his Jeep, officers reportedly found a BB gun that matched the description of the gun used in the Milan robbery, along with prescription pills.

Kukola admitted to all five robberies and admitted to using the BB gun in each one.

While officials have concluded there’s probable cause to charge him with the robberies, Wright told WWJ he was not sure if he will be prosecuted federally or at the local level.

Other pharmacies in Canton and Dearborn Heights were also recently robbed at gunpoint. It was not clear whether the same suspect was tied to those incidents.