Richmond RCMP bust nets ‘staggering’ $800K trove of stolen luxury goods

Richmond residents who have had a luxury handbag or pair couture shoes stolen may want to check with the RCMP.

Police say they’ve recovered a huge trove of luxury goods, tools and other items worth upwards of $800,000 after arresting an alleged serial burglar.

“The volume of high-end handbags, clothing, shoes, watches, spirits, personal electronics and currency recovered by officers is truly staggering,” said RCMP Cpl. Dennis Hwang.

“Jewelry, musical instruments, power tools, sporting goods and several swords were also recovered by our officers.”

The items were recovered after police caught a man they allege was breaking into a home in the 5000-block of Cornwall Street on Dec. 5.

PHOTOS: Stolen goods recovered in Richmond

After the arrest, police executed search warrants on a home and three storage facilities in Richmond, where they found the bulk of the goods.

The suspect, 42-year-old Richmond Aaron James Young, was released by police the following day.

But two weeks later he was arrested once again, after police allege he was spotted casing homes. That led officers to another storage locker, where more goods were recovered.

In all, police seized two vehicles and more than 1,000 items, which took officers multiple trips to return to the detachment and hours to catalogue.

“I don’t think we’ve ever come across this sheer volume of items, at least linked to one individual,” said Hwang.

“We are keeping our investigation open and there could be additional arrests forthcoming.”

Young is now facing 10 counts of break and enter, one count of assault with a weapon, two counts of using a disguise to commit an offence and two counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000.

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