The Canadian Bazaar
BRAMPTON: Fifteen Punjabi men from Brampton have been arrested for breaking into Canada Post mailboxes and residential mailboxes and stealing cheques, credit cards, and identification documents from them.
Those arrested from Brampton are Gurdeep Bains, 46, Hartinder Randhawa, 37, Taranjeet Virk, 37, Harmeet Khakh, 28, Gurdip Singh, 28, Harjinder Singh, 31, Gurkamal Mehmi, 38, Gurvinder Kang, 38, Gurpreet Singh, 21, Varinder Kooner, 43, Suhail Kumar, 21, Rattan Preetam, 26, Rupinder Sharma, 25, and Harman Singh, 21, and Kuldeep Sandhara, 27.
Those arrested also include Joga Singh, 30, from Toronto.
After stealing cheques from the mail boxes, the accused would alter them and deposit into various banks before withdrawing the funds fraudulently.
They have charged with mail theft, fraud over $5000, identity theft, forging documents, possession of stolen property, and possession of controlled substances.
The arrests come after police received over 100 reports of mail thefts and mischiefs in Peel region between January and April. Investigations found the link of these mail thefts to individuals residing in Brampton.
Police raided two residences in Brampton June 16 and 17 and seized hundreds of pieces of mail, stolen and altered cheques, printers, scanners, and other tools used to forge documents. Police also found six stolen vehicles used by suspects in mail thefts.
More arrests are likely soon.
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