Police have arrested two people after a large amount of stolen property was recovered in Leslieville this week.
Sylvan Lake RCMP, with assistance from regional Priority Crimes Task Force members and Rocky Mountain House RCMP, executed a search warrant at a the residence following an investigation that began on Tuesday.
Sylvan Lake RCMP had responded to a residential break and enter at a rural Eckville address. Evidence gathered at that site led Sylvan Lake RCMP to target the Leslieville address and bring in Rocky RCMP and task force members.
The search warrant was executed shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and police seized the stolen property, including flat deck trailers, generators, a snow blower, a loaded .22-calibre rifle and many stolen tools.
The trailers were confirmed to have been stolen from Fort Saskatchewan and RCMP identified a number of other items that had been stolen during the Eckville break and enter.
A 21-year-old woman was taken into custody when the search warrant was executed, and a 34-year-old man was making arrangements to turn himself in to Sylvan Lake RCMP. Both suspects are from Leslieville.
They will face Criminal Code charges that include break and enter, possession of stolen property and weapons offences. Their names will not be released yet because the charges they face have not yet been sworn before the courts.
“We know that criminals cross jurisdictions all the time, and that’s why collaboration and shared intelligence among task force members and neighbouring police detachments is so important,” says Sgt. Jeff McBeth of Sylvan Lake RCMP.
“As these arrests and the recovery of so much stolen property demonstrate, sharing information and working together allows RCMP in the region to better target those individuals who are criminally active in all our policing areas.”
Sylvan Lake RCMP are now looking to identify the owners of the large number of stolen tools.
Anyone who has been the victim of theft of tools is asked to call Sylvan Lake RCMP at 403-858-7200 and ask for Const. Mike Lee.
The regional Priority Crimes Task Force is made up of police officers from Red Deer RCMP General Investigative Section (GIS), Sylvan Lake, Innisfail and Blackfalds RCMP detachments and is supported by Lacombe Police Service. The task force is committed to increased inter-agency communication, shared criminal intelligence and a strategic focus on prolific property crimes offenders, in keeping with the K Division emphasis on crime reduction strategies.