RCMP release details of goods seized in raid
jeff hodson/metro vancouver
RCMP Cpl. Jack Hundal displays stolen mail keys seized in a Feb. 12 raid on a house in Surrey. It is the largest identity theft bust in the city’s history.
More than 2,400 pieces of mail, stolen in 24 different cities in B.C. and Alberta, were seized during a raid on a Surrey house, RCMP said yesterday as they unveiled details of the largest identity theft bust in the city’s history.
“I’m aware of one fellow in the Cloverdale area that had his personal identity stolen,” said RCMP Sgt. Roger Morrow.
“It’s a very labourious task. It took him three to four months to get back his own identity.”
Nine people were arrested Feb. 12 when 14 police officers and one Canada Post investigator stormed a house near 141st Street and 72A Avenue.
Police seized:
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Canada Post uniforms and satchels
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counterfeit postal keys
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more than 100 drivers licences
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more than 500 credit cards
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more than 75 medical cards
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12 international passports
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three boxes of ICBC records
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hundreds of tax receipts
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templates to counterfeit $50 and $20 bills
Two people are charged and five others are expected to appear in court for their part in an identity-theft operation that Morrow describes as a “mid-level hub.”
The operation used the information from the stolen mail to create false IDs and credit cards that were then sold to others who would use them to purchase goods.
The mail, some of which dated back to 1998, was stolen after delivery and through property crime from as far away as Calgary.
Spokeswoman Lillian Au said Canada Post began a mailbox lock-replacement program in 2006 and has switched to more high-tech keys.
The recovered mail, she said, is being held as evidence and will be returned, with a letter of explanation, when released by the courts.
