Montreal Police (SPVM) arrested nearly 15 teenagers on Wednesday, bringing the total number of arrests to 40 as part of a major operation cracking down on jewelry store thefts across the Montreal area.
Police said the suspects arrested were between 13 and 15 years old and had access to a gold resale market.
Several jewelry store thefts have been reported across the Montreal area since the beginning of the year. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 55 robberies were recorded in the SPVM’s jurisdiction.
Of those robberies, 34 are believed to have involved the same “smash-and-grab” tactic.
The thefts are being driven by rising gold prices and the exploitation of young people by criminal networks, police say.
Last year, Noovo Info reported that the SPVM had deployed significant resources to identify ringleaders believed to be orchestrating the robberies.
It also reported that criminal networks were allegedly recruiting teenagers through video game platforms such as Roblox and Minecraft.
