The Halton Regional Police Service has filed over 50 charges following a series of smash-and-grab robberies that occurred between Jan. 25 and March 17.
The incidents took place at businesses in Burlington, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Brantford, Guelph, Waterloo and Barrie.
Eight young individuals from Toronto, Mississauga and Barrie have been taken into custody, according to police on Friday. This group includes two youths, with all suspects being 22 years old or younger.
They face charges related to a total of twelve robberies throughout the area.
Deputy Chief of Halton police Roger Wilkie stated in a release, “This marks the first major crackdown on smash-and-grab robberies.”
“We’ve disrupted an organized group responsible for targeting businesses across the [Greater Toronto Area], and these arrests send a clear message: this type of co-ordinated criminal activity will not be tolerated.”
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Halton police Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie told the investigation is ongoing. (CBC)
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Police said there were no injuries during the robberies, but in one case, a car drove through the entrance of a Burlington Buy and Sell store. (Halton Regional Police Service)
The crimes also involved stolen vehicles and cloned license plates, Wilkie added.
He mentioned that authorities suspect an organized network is coordinating vehicles, selecting targets and recruiting potential robbers. These groups reportedly promote their activities via social media platforms like Whats App and Snapchat.
Wilkie indicated they are looking to identify more individuals linked to these robberies as their investigation progresses.
Lately last year, CBC’s fifth estate looked into an increase in jewelry store smash-and-grabs across Ontario. They discovered that more minors were being recruited by adults for these crimes under the impression that if caught as youths they would face minimal consequences.
Law enforcement agencies informed CBC at that time that involvement among youths in these robberies was unprecedented.
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Criminal networks recruit through Whats App, Snapchat, police say
During the investigation, authorities connected one robbery in January to seven others in Burlington and another twenty-five across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Wilkie mentioned to . He noted that Halton police collaborated with nine other police services for this investigation. According to the police news release, suspects wore “masks and balaclavas to conceal their identities and used hammers to smash display cases before quickly fleeing with stolen jewelry.” No injuries were reported during these robberies; however, there was property damage when a vehicle was driven into a Buy & Sell store.Source link
