Trio accused of fraud, buying, selling weapons

Two men and a woman are facing a total of 90 charges after stolen identity and credit card information was used to buy and sell prohibited weapons online, say city police.

In October 2016, the cyber crimes investigations unit received information from a concerned citizen that someone was selling a stun gun online in Edmonton.

An investigation resulted in the February 2017 arrest of two men. Investigators believe the two men were purchasing stun guns from online vendors outside of Canada and selling them locally online and to individuals involved in the drug trade.

A subsequent investigation revealed that between August 2016 and February 2017, a woman working at a Red Deer hotel had stolen identity and credit card information from about 150 guests, sharing the information with one of the men.

Police have notified all those affected by the fraud.

Jesse Clapp, 32 and Travis Tanasychuk, 34, are charged with numerous weapons-related offences, including weapons trafficking, possession for purpose of weapons trafficking and possession of weapon for dangerous purpose.

The two men and Kristine Palmer, 25, are all charged with offences in relation to the possession and distribution of credit card data and identity documents, including 13 counts each under the unauthorized use of credit card data section 342 (3) of the Criminal Code.