Further arrests and charges are anticipated in relation to this investigation
AFTER a six-week investigation, officers from the 21 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau of Ontario’s Peel Regional Police have charged 16 people with over 140 offences, including mail theft, fraud over $5,000, identity theft, uttering a forged document, possession of stolen property, and possession of controlled substances.
As investigators scrutinized over 100 reports of mail thefts and mischiefs in the Region of Peel between January and April of 2021, they discovered links to numerous parties residing in Brampton. In May 2021, investigators began collaborating with their partners at Canada Post, Halton Regional Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, and numerous financial institutions.
Investigators learned that the accused parties would allegedly steal mail by breaking into Canada Post mailboxes or individual roadside residential mailboxes targeting cheques, credit cards, and identification documents. The accused would then allegedly alter and deposit the stolen cheques into various banks before withdrawing the funds fraudulently.
By Wednesday, May 19, investigators began arresting the accused people. On June 16 and 17, two search warrants were conducted at residences in Brampton, where officers located hundreds of pieces of mail, stolen/altered cheques, printers, scanners, and other tools used to forge documents. Throughout the six weeks, investigators also located six stolen vehicles used by suspects involved in mail thefts.
The following residents of Brampton, Mississauga, and York Region have all been charged for various offences (some names appear more than once with additional charges):
* Gurdeep Bains, a 46-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
theft of mail, fraud over $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime, possession of forgery instruments, breach (three counts), possession of identity documents (six counts), possession of credit card data (10 counts), utter forged document and possession of a controlled substance.
* Hartinder Randhawa, a 37-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
theft of mail (three counts), fraud over, utter forged document, possess identity documents (two counts), possession of stolen property, possession of instruments of forgery, possess credit card data (four counts), possession of a controlled substance (two counts).
* Taranjeet Virk, a 37-year-old man from Woodbridge is charged with the following:
fraud over, utter forged document, possession of property obtained by crime, possession of a controlled substance (two counts).
* Harmeet Khakh, a 28-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
Possession of counterfeit currency.
* Gurdip Singh, a 28-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of property obtained by crime (two counts), obstruct police, possession of a controlled substance (two counts).
* Harjinder Singh, a 31-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of stolen property (three counts), breach of court order (three counts), dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, fail to stop at the scene of an accident, possession of a controlled substance (three counts), possession of credit card data, possess identity document (three counts).
* Gurkamal Mehmi, a 38-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of stolen property, possession for the purpose (two counts) and trafficking a controlled substance (two counts).
* Gurvinder Kang, a 38-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
breach of court order (three counts), possession of stolen property, fraud over $5,000.
* Hartinder Randhawa, a 37-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
fraud over $5,000, possession of stolen property.
* Gurpreet Singh, a 21-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, theft under (two counts), breach of court order, possession stolen property (five counts), fraud (five counts), utter forged document, possession of instruments of forgery, making a false document, identity fraud and obstruct police.
* Varinder Kooner, a 43-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
breach (two counts), possession of stolen property (four counts), possession of instruments of forgery and making a false document.
* Gurvinder Kang, a 38-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
breach (two counts), theft of mail, utter forged document, possession of stolen property, possession of a controlled substance (two counts).
* Suhail Kumar, a 21-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
theft of mail, possession of a controlled substance (two counts), possession of property obtained by crime (two counts).
* Rattan Preetam, a 26-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of a controlled substance (two counts), breach of court order.
* Rupinder Sharma a 25-year-old from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of property obtained by crime.
* Joga Singh a 30-year-old from Toronto is charged with the following:
possession of property obtained by crime.
* Hartinder Randhawa, a 37-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of a controlled substance (x2), utter forged document and breach of court order.
* Varinderpal Kooner, a 43-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of a controlled substance (two counts), possession of identity documents, possession of stolen property, possession of credit card data and breach of court order (two counts). two outstanding arrest warrants for property and fraud related offences were also executed.
* Harman Singh a 21-year-old man from Brampton is charged with the following:
possession of a controlled substance (two counts) and breach of a court order.
* Kuldeep Sandhara, a 27-year-old from Brampton was charged as a result of an outstanding warrant for robbery-related offences.
Further arrests and charges are anticipated in relation to this investigation.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the 21 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau at 905-453-2121, extension 2133.Information may also be left anonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by visiting www.peelcrimestoppers.ca.
