Halton police recover $2.7M in stolen goods

Fourteen people have been charged in a string of residential break-and-enters that targeted homes across the Greater Toronto Area, with as much as $2.7 million in personal property stolen, police said Wednesday.

Police allege the suspects were part of an organized crime ring based out of South America, and stole items that ranged from high-end jewelry and luxury bags to cash.

“I’ve never seen a recovery this big,” said Det. Ron Strauch of Halton regional police. “Any other day for me, about $50,000 worth of stuff would be a huge win.”

Officers with the Halton force began investigating late last year, he said, after analysts noted a spike in residential break-andenters.

In some senses, they followed a specific pattern, Strauch said, with suspects entering through back doors. But in other ways, the hits were random. The accused didn’t always target large houses or those in particularly affluent neighbourhoods, and the alleged crimes took place across the GTA.

Strauch said the investigation was fairly slow going until a witness who was out walking his dog in Oakville saw a break-andenter take place last month. “Because of witnessing that, he was able to give us a lot of information that sort of blew this investigation up really fast in about three weeks’ time,” Strauch said.

Police seized stolen property that included a watch worth $50,000, a designer suitcase worth $20,000 and a pair of slippers worth $5,000.

Halton police charged 10 people — all of whom are Chilean nationals — with offences including break and enter and possession of property obtained by crime and York police charged four others.