Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) seeks the public’s assistance in identifying a group of suspects in a series of purse and wallet thefts that have taken place throughout Halton.
Between April 2021 and March 2022 there have been 16 thefts involving a group of six different suspects (see photos below) identified by police.
The suspects typically target older adults in retail and grocery stores throughout the region.
In many cases, the victim’s personal identification numbers were also stolen, and the tap functions of their financial cards were used to make fraudulent purchases.
The suspects have been working in pairs and distracting their victims while shopping. One suspect will engage the victim in conversation while the other steals a wallet and/ or purse. In some instances, the older adult’s vehicles are also entered while one suspect distracts the victim by loading their groceries.
The estimated total losses of these 16 occurrences total more than $25,000.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective Constable Derek Gray of the 3 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905 825-4777 ext. 2344 or via email at [email protected].
Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. "See something? Hear something? Know something? Contact Crime Stoppers" at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.
Update: March 21, 2022
Upon investigation, the person listed as Suspect #3 is no longer a suspect. The image below is the current list of suspects the police are looking to locate. If you have uploaded or shared the previous image, police request that you remove it.
