Police uniforms, passports among items stolen by 'semi-organized' ring, officers say

Nine Manitobans face numerouschargesand 11 more people are wanted after police recovered more than $300,000 in stolen goods including RCMP uniforms, camper trailers and blank passports from a "semi-organized" crime ring spanning the four western provinces.

Winnipeg police say 20 suspects have been identified in connection with Project Heavy Metal, a "complex stolen property investigation" that began late last year.

The investigation targeted a number of break-ins and thefts in Winnipeg and the surrounding area, but investigators found some of the suspects were also active in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, said Insp. Barry Kostchuk.

"We have a group of individuals. Most of them were known to each other and would communicate and share information regarding property and go out and search out property or sell property," he told reporters in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

"I do know that several of the group are involved in the methamphetamine drug trade, so obviously where there's drugs, money, everything goes hand in hand."

Nine people from the Winnipeg area were arrested on Oct. 11and face a variety of charges that include theft, breaking and entering and possessing goods obtained by crime.

Arrest warrants are outstanding for the remaining 11 suspects. Two of them are in Calgary, another two "may besomewhere in western Canada" and the others are believed to be in and around Winnipeg, say police.

Kostchuk said a total of 140 charges will be laid in connection with the investigation, with most of the charges expected to befor property-related offences.

The Winnipeg Police Service worked withthe Calgary and Edmonton police services and the RCMPin the investigation.

2 uniforms stolen

The arrests came after two used RCMP uniforms, some related police equipment and other stolen goods were seized from a home in Calgary on Sept. 2.

"It's my understanding that a police vehicle was broken into and items stolen that's [in] relation to the uniforms. I can't comment as to where the other police-related equipment came from," Kostchuk said.

Other goods that have been recovered include vehicles, camper trailers, snowblowers, lawn-care equipment, building materials, new tires, tools, key-cutting machines, electronics, blank passports and blank birth certificates. The goods werestolen from businesses and locked business compounds as well as from homes, police said.

Kostchuk it's not known what the thieves had planned to do with the police uniforms and equipment or the passports and birth certificates.

He described the alleged theft ring as "semi-organized" because the suspects were not always going after specific items. Investigators have not found any strong ties to gangs, he added.

"In some cases, we determined that they were targeting specific goods. In some cases, it was crimes of opportunity," he said.