New Westminster police believe the “keen” eye of one of its officers likely prevented more people from being victimized.
Sgt. Andrew Leaver said the New Westminster Police Department responded to a call for service at a local residence on Sept. 11. While there, an officer noted a number of suspicious items believed to be connected to identify fraud.
The officer engaged with the NWPD’s Crime Reduction Unit, and a search warrant was later approved to search the residence.
“The search of the residence yielded a number of items connected to identity fraud, including over 8,000 pieces of stolen mail, a firearm with ammunition, three replica firearms, over 1,500 stolen or fraudulent bank cards or identity cards, over 50 passports, and items that can be used in the manufacturing and production of fraudulent documents,” Leaver said.
The investigation is in the early stages.
“Obviously, we have an incredible volume of evidence to go through,” Leaver said. “Our officers will be working towards figuring out how many victims there are, if theses are connected to any existing reports. And then we will be engaging Crown counsel to recommend charges.”
According to Leaver, the initial call for service is unrelated to the items seized during the execution of a search warrant. To protect the identity of the complainant, he couldn’t provide further details on the initial call.
“It’s the keen eye of our officer that was able to recognize that there were some suspicious items that they believed to be connected to identity fraud,” he told the Record. “That initiated this further investigation.”
At a news conference at Anvil Centre on Wednesday afternoon, the New Westminster Police Department discussed the Sept. 11 seizure. (The Record was unable to attend the news conference but spoke with the NWPD about the seizure.)
“It’s a very significant seizure which is why we’d like to use this to highlight how widespread this type of offence is. Offences like these negatively affect the entire community. We know that credit card fraud and identity theft is an invasive crime, and it can create significant problems for residents, businesses,” Leaver said. “So, we’d encourage residents to check their bank and credit statements, make sure there are no irregularities.”
Leaver said the seizure has prevented further residents from being victimized as it has gotten personal information out of the hands of those that might use it for fraudulent purposes.
Now that the information is secure, he said police will work to determine whether or not the fraudulent or stolen items have already been used.
“Processing this volume of evidence is going to be a lot of work,” he said. “We are fortunate to have a unit – our Crime Reduction Unit – that is dedicated to this, that they were able to take this on.”
Leaver said the Crime Reduction Unit will be partnering with other agencies, including the RCMP, who have experts in analyzing fraudulent documents and firearms.
“We rely on our partner agencies for those specialties, where they can provide expert opinions that can ultimately help solidify our evidence to recommend charges to Crown counsel,” he said.
Investigation continues
Leaver said no charges have yet been recommended to Crown counsel. He said that’s because the investigation is in its early stages and police have a lot of evidence to go through to determine which charges are applicable.
“We need to identify what victims are out there, who has already reported to us, to be able to connect those dots in order to provide a fulsome account of what has happened to Crown counsel,” he explained. “We do have a suspect, and we do believe the seizure of all of these items is already disruption to the criminal organization.”
It’s too early to say if the suspect was acting alone or operating as part of a group, Leaver said.
“Being so early in the investigation, we don’t know yet,” he told the Record. “Part of the investigation going forward will be to determine how widespread this is, whether we have a suspect that was acting alone or whether there is part of a greater criminal organization.”
Leaver said he would like to highlight the “diligent work” of the officer who initially noticed the suspicious activity and the follow-up work done by the Crime Reduction Unit.
“This is likely going to be able to prevent further victims,” he said. “And I’d like to use this opportunity to remind residents to check their credit reports, check their bank statement for any suspicious activities.”
At this stage in the investigation, it is unclear where the stolen mail originated.
“Given the sheer volume of mail that we have recovered, it is too early to say where this came from,” Leaver said. “But we do believe that mail theft is an under reported crime. We would encourage anyone who believes their mail has been stolen, knows their mail has been stolen, to call us.”
If you are a victim of mail theft, report it to the New Westminster Police Department by calling 604-525-5411. Additionally, you can get credit reports or credit monitoring done to check for signs of fraud online.
