Second person arrested in Salvation Army theft

A second person has been charged in connection with the theft of 100,000 toys and other items from a Salvation Army warehouse in Toronto, police said Thursday.

Umaish Ramrattan, 61, of Ajax faces 40 charges, including several counts of theft and possession of stolen property, and is to appear in court on Jan. 4.

Police say they found a third cache of stolen goods after raiding another commercial warehouse in Brampton on Wednesday.

Twenty-six skids containing toys, school supplies, cleaning products and food were reportedly found.

Former Salvation Army warehouse executive director David Rennie was charged Monday in connection with the theft, which police and the charity have estimated to be worth $2 million.

Rennie, 51, faces charges of theft over $5,000, possession of stolen property and criminal breach of trust.

On Monday, police alleged a company called Northern Sales Group, which they said controls a Toronto warehouse where some of the toys were earlier found, was involved in a scheme to sell the Salvation Army items.

At that time investigators said they were looking to arrest and charge a second suspect connected to the group.

Police say Ramrattan was arrested on Wednesday. The charges against him include 10 counts of theft over $5,000, seven counts of theft under $5,000, criminal breach of trust, trafficking in stolen goods and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

The Salvation Army released a statement Thursday, saying the charity had no business or personal dealings with Ramrattan.

“We are well on our way to helping to make this Christmas a special time for thousands of families, something which would not have been possible without the police and the generosity of many businesses and people in our communities,” spokesman John Murray said.

The charity is in the middle of its annual Christmas Kettle Campaign, where volunteers solicit donations for the needy. Murray has said the Salvation Army will ensure no one goes without this season.