Seven suspects arrested in alleged theft ring
A carefully planned heist of $200,000 from a currency exchange counter in northern Montreal set off a joint police investigation two months ago that has resulted in charges being filed in Montreal and Ontario against seven people alleged to be part of a network of thieves from South America.
The investigation began on May 3, when the Montreal police (SPVM) probed the overnight theft of $200,000 from the currency exchange counter in Cartierville. While collaborating with the Canada Border Services Agency, Montreal police investigators identified potential suspects and linked them to other thefts and break-ins that have occurred in Montreal, the police force said.
Montreal police describe the people targeted in the investigation as “suspected members of a cell linked to” a network of criminals referred to as South American Theft Groups by several police forces in North America.
According to the FBI, the groups “are organizations predominately consisting of Colombian nationals who commit jewelry thefts, burglaries, and robberies. SATG members usually enter the U.S. illegally with false identification.”
In May, Montreal police had the suspects in the currency exchange counter heist under surveillance when they suddenly headed to Ontario. Montreal police investigators alerted their colleagues in the Ontario Provincial Police and the Peel Regional Police, who kept a close eye on the group.
Within a matter of days, on May 17, Peel Regional Police arrested seven people in connection with a break-in at a business in Mississauga.
“Three of the suspects were arrested while they were inside the building and one of them was found by police in the attic of the business,” the Montreal police noted in their statement.
When the seven people were arrested, police also seized burglary tools, several thousand dollars in Canadian and American currency and false identification documents. They also seized a bag that had been stolen during the overnight break-in at the Cartierville currency exchange counter.
The seven people face charges in Ontario in connection with three break-ins carried out in the Mississauga area on the same day they were arrested.
According to the Montreal police, five of the seven — Emison Javier Reina Camelo, 28, of Stléonard; Ricardo Alfonso Mora Parada, 48; Bertha Yaneth Alba Rocha, 48; John Frady Lopez Salazar, 46; Herlado Serrato Luque, 42 — are suspects in two break-ins carried out in Montreal on May 2 and April 15. The latter four listed an apartment in Terrebonne as their place of residence when they were arrested.
All five required the services of a Spanish translator when they made their first court appearance at the Montreal courthouse on Friday through a video conference. They face a series of charges, including breaking and entering and theft.
Their case will return to court in Montreal on Thursday.
Two news websites based in Oakville, Ont., reported in midmay that the same joint police investigation led to the arrests of seven other people, including Jessie Gosselin, 30, of Laval, who are also alleged to be tied to South American Theft Groups.
The seven were arrested by the Halton regional police and are alleged to have broken into houses in five different municipalities in Ontario between May 5 and May 15.