Police have made an arrest after investigating more than 20 thefts from vehicles across Greater Victoria over the last two months.
Saanich police detectives executed a search warrant at a home on North Dairy Road on Wednesday (March 22), with assistance from the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team — yielding over 100 pieces of personal documents including bank cards, driver’s licences, passports, work ID tags and laptops, among other personal items.
According to police, some of the bank cards had been used to make fraudulent purchases around the Capital Region.
Saanich police’s Street Crime Unit began to investigate a string of thefts from vehicles in the district, as well as other regions in the Greater Victoria area, in January.
While officers believe that most of the personal items had been stolen since the beginning of the year, police said further processing will be necessary to trace items to specific crimes and return items to their rightful owners.
The suspect, a 45-year-old Saanich resident, is well-known to police and was arrested and charged with breach of release order and one count of possession of property obtained by crime, according to Saanich police spokesperson Const. Markus Anastasiades.
“This is a good reminder for everyone to try their best to remove important personal and valuable items from their vehicles when left unattended,” Anastasiades said in a statement. “Most of these thefts occurred in public parks when the occupants left their valuables hidden in their vehicles before they set off for a walk or hike.”
Charges of possession of stolen property, fraud and identity theft are also being investigated.
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