Blank passports found during theft ring bust

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This article was published 18/10/2016 (3366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A major investigation by Winnipeg police that recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen property has raised national security concerns after blank passports were among the items officers found.

On Tuesday, police announced that “Project Heavy Metal” identified 20 suspects, including nine arrested in Manitoba, who are facing 140 charges in connection with a theft ring that operated across Western Canada. Calgary and Edmonton police as well as the RCMP helped with the investigation that recovered more than $300,000 worth of goods stolen during break-ins and other thefts. Two RCMP uniforms and police equipment were recovered after a search warrant was executed at a Calgary residence in September, Insp. Barry Kostchuk said. Vehicles, camper trailers, snow blowers, lawn care equipment, new tires, tools, key cutting machines, and electronics were recovered.

The most alarming items discovered among the stash of stolen goods may be the blank passports and birth certificates. Winnipeg police weren’t ready to comment Tuesday about the blank identity documents — how many were found, if they were taken from government offices or are fakes, like bogus Canadian passports that are offered for sale online for less than $200.

The theft of genuine blank Canadian passports has opened doors in the past for criminals such as human traffickers and raises concerns about dangerous people being allowed into the country.

In 2002, the RCMP foiled a scheme to sell 246 stolen blank Canadian passports — but not before some of them found their way into the hands of international people-smuggling rings. An informant tipped off RCMP that the black-market “books,” stolen in June, 2002, from the Scarborough passport office, were being sold on the streets of Toronto for $1,000 apiece. Police recovered 183 passports in a sting operation two years ago, intercepted two in a package mailed from Thailand and in 2004 discovered as many as 33 more in possession of Sri Lankan human smugglers in the Caribbean and Europe. In a separate case in 2014, a Citizenship and Immigration Canada employee in Toronto was charged with breach of trust and 96 other counts including selling identity documents, passport forgery and making false statements.

“Criminals will go to great lengths to obtain fake or fraudulent passports to allow them the freedom to travel throughout the world,” Sgt. Louie Casale of the Toronto West Serious and Organized Crime Team said at the time in 2014. “It is very important to maintain the reputation of the Canadian passport and the RCMP will diligently investigate those responsible for passport fraud.”

The RCMP did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — formerly Citizenship and Immigration Canada — was not prepared to comment about the latest discovery of blank passports announced by Winnipeg police Tuesday.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca