91Ô´´ Mounties recovered a hoard of stolen property worth an estimated $1 million when they searched a property in Brookswood earlier this month.
91Ô´´ RCMP's Drugs and Organized Crime Section (DOCS) began an investigation on Dec. 17 last year into a series of Lower Mainland break and enters, said Sgt. Zynal Sharoom, spokesperson for the 91Ô´´ RCMP.
Investigators zeroed in on a possible suspect, and a property related to that person in the 19700 block of 28 Avenue, a low-density area of South Brookswood.
On Jan. 7, with a search warrant and backup from the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (ERT), officers arrived at the property and dismantled what police say was a sophisticated and organized property crime operation.
Among the items recovered were
• 10 stolen vehicles, including trailers, boats, and ATVs
• About 10,000 litres of gasoline and diesel fuel
• Many power tools
• Three loaded guns
• Electronic devices believed to have been used for created fake IDs and fake vehicle identification numbers (VINs)
In total, eight people were detained by police related to the investigation. They have all been released pending further investigation, Sharoom said.
"The sophisticated design of a large outbuilding resembled a hardware store that had been strategically established as a resale operation," said Sharoom. "Officers continue to work to identify the rightful owners of several hundred seized items in order to advance the investigation."
Sharoom advised people to write down serial numbers or engrave their name on valuable items that could be stolen. If they do go missing, the serial numbers can help police return the stolen goods.
Anyone who purchased items from the area in the 19700 block of 28 Avenue after responding to ads on social media is asked to now call the 91Ô´´ RCMP at 604-532-3200 and to quote file number 2024-40997.