Auto theft operation recovers 74 vehicles and charges 10
Posted May 14, 2015 4:09 pm.
Last Updated May 14, 2015 4:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Police are cracking down on a Calgary auto theft ring and in a three-month investigation, 10 people have been arrested and 74 stolen vehicles recovered.
The total value of the vehicles recovered is just under $2 million and 168 charges have been laid, with more expected.
Of the 10, the main individuals are 30-year-old Tyler Scott, 34-year-old Tyler John, 31-year-old Jason Little and 25-year-old Brandi Lynn Couterielle, all from Calgary and facing multiple charges.
The ring worked with top criminals coordinating thefts of lower members, who would commit crimes of opportunity everywhere from body shops, auctions, industrial areas and regular residences.
Staff Sgt. Kristie Verheul said once they were stolen, they could be traded for drugs or cash.
“It is a significant auto theft ring for certain and I think as investigations go on, we’ll probably be laying more charges, this is really scratching the surface of what we know has happened,” she said.
That’s because in the early days of the investigation, police were seeing about 120 vehicles stolen per week, but after the arrest of two individuals, that rate dropped by 40.
“There’s still 80 vehicles per week that are being stolen, that’s a significant amount, it’s really important for the public to be aware of that,” he said.
Verheul said about 85 per cent of the vehicles were stolen with keys left inside or close by, spanning from Calgarians running into a store to vehicles left on a residential street with the keys inside.
“Keep your keys locked up, keep them in a safe location away from your vehicle,” she said.
Police believe the ring has been operating since the spike of vehicle thefts last December and most have been returned to their owners or dealt with insurance companies.
