Three charged in porch parcel thefts

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This article was published 07/02/2025 (412 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three people have been charged after a series of thefts involving delivered packages in Transcona over several months.

Complaints about porch pirates around Transcona in November resulted in Project Thrifties, an investigation launched by Winnipeg police, who interviewed residents and reviewed security footage.

One woman has been connected to seven porch thefts that occurred between August and December. The most valuable item stolen had an estimated value of $200, police said.

The woman faces multiple charges of theft under $5,000, along with charges of failing to comply with conditions of a release order and failing to attend court as part of a release order.

Two more suspects — a 47-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman — were arrested after two other thefts, one on Dec. 1 with an estimated value of $50 and another on Jan. 2 with an estimated value of $200. They both face one charge of theft under $5,000. The man had an unrelated warrant for his arrest.

The suspects were known to police “through the drug subculture, retail theft as well as porch piracy,” and knew each other, Const. Pat Saydak said Friday, adding they are part of a wider problem in the city.

“It’s an ongoing issue,” Saydak said. “We can investigate as long as a report’s filed; I would suspect that there is a lot more going on out there than what has been reported.”

Several of the suspects frequented a house in the 300 block of Larche Crescent that was pointed out as a “problem residence” by area residents, Saydak said. He said the house was “shut down” by police after consultation with the public health department, but would not elaborate.

Russ Wyatt, the city councillor for the area, said the home had long been a drug den and the police investigation led to it being condemned.

“Methamphetamine was a concern in terms of that home, and we were able to proactively work with the police on that to get that addressed… that (home) was backing on to our community club at Oxford Heights, which was causing a lot of concern there,” he said.

His office has received a steady stream of calls about porch theft. He wants the East police station, at 1750 Dugald Rd., to reopen to the public so they can report crimes in person. The station has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We want to encourage the public to make it easy for people to make police reports, because that’s the best way to track the state of the safety of the neighbourhood, as well as the statistics involving that, and that determines where resources will go,” he said.

Winnipeg police recommend people look into safer pickup options, request signature confirmation from delivery services, sign up for alerts when packages are delivered and avoid visible delivery spots.

Saydak said investigators hope people who fall victim to porch piracy contact police.

“This investigation could not have been possible without these reports being submitted, which act as a starting point for the investigation,” he said.

“However, more victims of this crime are suspected (to be) still out there and are strongly encouraged to report the incident to police.”

Victims of porch theft can file a police report online, call the WPS non-emergency line, or go to the downtown police headquarters in person.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca