Athabasca RCMP arrested four individuals last Tuesday in connection to a highly-organized theft ring in the Forfar area, seizing ìseveral hundred stolen itemsî valued at as much as $150,000.
Three men and one woman ó two from within the county, two from elsewhere, confirmed the RCMP ó are facing more than 70 criminal charges and are appearing in Athabasca Provincial Court today (June 4) to address them.
Police have isolated at least 15 confirmed thefts, but have said further charges may be laid as ìthe investigation is definitely ongoing,î according to Cst. Luke Lichty of the Athabasca RCMP, lead investigator on the case.
ìWeíve been tracking this guy for years,î said Lichty. ìWeíve been tracking them, other counties have been tracking them. (We believe) this has been a base of operations for Athabasca, Westlock, Barrhead (and) weíve had some activity in Morinville and Slave Lake, Thorhild.î
Lichty would not speculate on the extent of the charges the accused may face, but said ìwe are still trying to decide what direction weíre going to go with that, because there are two completely different ways we could go.î
Many of the allegted crimes occurred in Athabasca County, but also Westlock, Slave Lake and Redwater, according to the constable.
A variety of items were seized by the police.
ìDrugs, a lot of stolen property, vehicles Ö (in a chop shop) we got parts from vehicles as well,î said Lichty, who later said firearms were also seized.
According to an Athabasca RCMP press release, stolen items included ìATVs, household appliances, tools, industrial equipment, (and) electronics.î
Lichty said, ìthe entire property was set up for the commission of property crime, everything from the chop shop Ö they had pre-made break-and-enter kits in duffel bags ready to go.î
The evidence, he said, points to a highly organized theft in which the four individuals were stockpiling stolen items at the Forfar property and reselling them.
ìThis was organized,î said Lichty. ìI donít think they want us to know what area theyíre doing so we can be waiting for them, so they move around a lot. Theyíll hit one area for a bit, and then theyíll go hit another one for a while.î
At least $300,000 in items could have been stolen over an extended period, said Lichty, if accounting for stolen property that had already been sold.
Lichty, who would not release the names of the individuals pending their court appearance, said the investigation is still ongoing as there may be more individuals involved.
The investigation has been active ìsince long before my time,î spanning more than seven years.
While the Athabasca RCMP led the way on the investigation, other detachments contributed intelligence and information, according to Lichty, in hundreds of man-hours over the past few months.
Edmontonís RCMP Emergency Response Team was also involved, as well as the RCMP police dog services from Edmonton and St. Albert, RCMP Air Services, auto theft from Edmonton, forensic identification services from Edmonton, and RCMP general duty members from Slave Lake, Westlock, Boyle and Athabasca.
Lichty said that leading up to last Tuesdayís arrests, ìeveryone worked really hard on this, not just us, (but) other detachments as well ó almost everyone, some voluntary.
ìOur county was getting hit really hard,î said Lichty, noting an average of three to nine break-ins being reported daily prior to the arrests.
ìWe had to put a stop to that.î
