Mounties seize hundreds of fake IDs, bank cards in B.C. mail theft investigation

Officers seized nearly 1,600 items during the investigation, including 346 pieces of identification, 572 pieces of mail, 496 bank cards and 155 cheques. (Handout)

Mounties say six men have been arrested and hundreds of bank cards and fraudulent identification documents have been recovered following a two-month investigation into mail theft in Burnaby, B.C.

The local RCMP detachment says its prolific-offender suppression team identified a group of suspects after two break-ins at an apartment building on Telford Avenue last October.

Investigators executed a search warrant at a residence in the 5000 block of Belleville Avenue in December, arresting four of the six suspects at the home, police said in a statement Wednesday.

Officers seized nearly 1,600 items during the investigation, including 346 pieces of identification, 572 pieces of mail, 496 bank cards and 155 cheques, according to the statement.

Also seized were items used in the manufacture of fake IDs, including an embossing machine, police said.

The suspects have not been charged in the case, but all six face “a multitude of potential fraud and theft-related charges,” the police statement said.

Burnaby RCMP Insp. Matt Toews says identity theft is a serious crime that can cause “significant financial hardship, and in some cases, financial devastation” for its victims.

“In this case, the thieves were organized and had equipment to mass-produce false identification,” he added. “The large seizure of various identification and manufacturing equipment will have saved numerous victims from financial hardship.”