York Regional Police say break and enters in the region this past fall and winter are up almost 100 per cent, year over year.
On Thursday, investigators with No. 5 District in Markham revealed the results of a four-month operation dubbed Project Cayenne which led to 16 arrests.
York Regional Superintendent Fred Moffat said the number of break and enters reported to police since the beginning of fall through to the beginning of March was 124, a number almost double the same period of 2015 and 2016, which was 67.
Project Cayenne, named after the brand of vehicle driven by the suspects, was jointly conducted with Peel, Durham and Toronto police as the suspects are believed to have been from around the Golden Horseshoe.
“Typically they are from other areas of the GTA, and in many cases from other countries,” said Moffat, “They come to Canada and are involved in offenses, in which case we also have to deal with Canadian Border Services.”
Investigators say targeted items in the homes included expensive watches, jewelry and purses which would eventually be sold to pawn shops and listed for sale online with Kijiji and Craigslist.
It was during a potential distraction theft that several of the suspects were arrested in late February, according to Det. Sgt. Jim Smyth.
“On the day they were caught, they were observed by our officers in Newmarket casing a financial institution,” said Smyth. “They were slashing tires of potential victims where one individual would help the victim change the tire, while another suspect would rob the vehicle.”
Police have not released the names of the suspects nor have they said what charges they will be facing.
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