ON August 6, 2024, Burnaby RCMP received a report that three shipping containers with approximately $125,000 worth of merchandise had been stolen from a business in the 7900-block of North Fraser Way.
Burnaby RCMP’s Prolific Offender Suppression Team (POST) assumed conduct of the investigation. On August 11, 2024, the three containers, along with several other containers, were recovered empty at a property in Port Coquitlam.
On November 29, 2024, another shipping container and semi-trailer with approximately $60,000 worth of merchandise was reported stolen from the same business.
After a six-month long investigation, on February 20, 2025, Burnaby RCMP’s POST and Community Response Team (CRT) executed a search warrant at a storage warehouse in Surrey, resulting in the seizure of:
- 1 Freightliner tractor;
- 1 forklift;
- 51 pallets of toilet paper;
- 42 pallets of paper towel;
- 2 pallets of beer;
- 5 pallets of food.
Further investigation led Burnaby RCMP’s POST to several suspects and on March 5, search warrants were executed at three residences in the Lower Mainland.
Three individuals, a 40-year-old Richmond man, a 54-year-old Surrey man and a 48-year-old New Westminster man, now face numerous potential criminal charges including:
- Theft over $5,000
- Trafficking in property obtained by crime
- Possession of property obtained by crime
“These large-scale thefts have a negative impact on the community as a whole and not just the initial victim of the crime,” said Cpl. Mike Kalanj with Burnaby RCMP. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods were stolen and as a result of this investigation a good portion of that was returned to the rightful owner.”
The investigation is ongoing.
