More than a dozen people have been charged following a weeks-long investigation into a mail theft ring in Peel Region and police say that further arrests are expected.
Police say that they began a multi-jurisdictional investigation in collaboration with Canada Post last month after scrutinizing more than 100 reports of mail theft between January and April and discovering links to a group of individuals residing in Brampton.
They say that investigators believe the accused parties were stealing mail by breaking into Canada post mailboxes or simply grabbing it from roadside residential mailboxes.
They would target cheques, credit cards, and identification documents and often altered and deposited the stolen cheques into various banks before withdrawing the funds, police say.
Police began arresting suspects on May 19 and their investigation culminated on June 16 and 17 when two search warrants were executed at residences in Brampton, resulting in the recovery of hundreds of pieces of mail, including stolen/altered cheques.
Police also seized a variety of tools used to forge documents.
To date, a total of 16 people have been arrested and they are facing more than 140 offences combined, including mail theft, fraud over $5,000 and identity theft.
Police say that the investigation remains ongoing and “further arrests and charges are anticipated.”
