Dozens of stolen vehicles, equipment recovered during warranted searches of Camrose-area properties: police
Some 100 stolen vehicles and pieces of equipment were found when Alberta police searched more than a dozen rural properties south of Edmonton in late November.
In an update on Friday on the massive "property crime" investigation – as police originally called it – the ALERT agency said the stolen property consisted of vehicles, trailers, farming equipment and other machinery.
Police conducted 17 search warrants at addresses in Camrose and the surrounding area on Nov. 21, 2022, as part of a "property crime" investigation. Pictured here is a tractor with writing on it, including the word "elephant." CTV News Edmonton blurred the other information.
"It is like nothing we have ever investigated before," commented ALERT spokesperson Mike Tucker.
Investigators have identified and talked to "several" suspects, but no charges have been laid yet, he told CTV News Edmonton.
More details will be provided when the evidence is catalogued and processed, ALERT promised.
Police conducted 17 search warrants at addresses in Camrose and the surrounding area on Nov. 21, 2022, as part of a "property crime" investigation. In this photo, a tractor is driven onto a trailer.
"We want to get it back to the rightful owners, we just have to practice due diligence in making sure all the evidence is properly documented," Tucker said.
ALERT warned Camrose residents on Nov. 21 it would be conducting search warrants at 17 addresses in the town and surrounding area over a few days.
Tucker called it "one of the biggest takedown operations ALERT has ever conducted," with 170 officers helping execute the warrants.
Police conducted 17 search warrants on Nov. 21, 2022, in Camrose, Alta., and the surrounding area. In this photo, police tape swings in front of A-1 Rentals in Camrose.
On Friday, investigators confirmed most of the locations were in Camrose, but some were in the local county, Ponoka County, and the Rural Municipality of Hillsdale in Saskatchewan. That municipality is located west of North Battleford.
ALERT, or Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams, is a provincially funded organization that investigates serious and organized crime.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.