RCMP convinced gang of thieves at work

RCMP believe a gang of thieves is at work in the city after $50,000 worth of recreational vehicles and cargo trailers were stolen within 48 hours.

The crimes were reported to police between 6 p.m. Friday and Sunday afternoon. In one case, a cargo trailer was stolen from a locked Petro-Canada compound on the East Trans-Canada Highway only to turn up at the scene of another crime, said Const. Pat Nagy.

Investigators believe the culprits dumped the $17,000 trailer at GB Truck Sales and Service on the Tk’emlups Indian reserve, where they smashed their way into a pair of pickup trucks and cut the padlocks on a number of trailers, Nagy said.

“Do we think these are connected? Absolutely,” she said.

The culprits are also believed to have stolen a truck and nine-metre-long Blazer cargo trailer carrying $30,000 worth of tools, camping and hunting gear and two Arctic Cat quads.

Nagy said the truck was found at 13th Avenue and Nicola Street with some of the hunting gear — including a compound bow — generators and tools inside.

A 2008 Charmac trailer was reported stolen from Expert Collision on Falcon Road in Valleyview and a trio of Arctic Cat snowmobiles and V-front trailer was taken from a locked compound at Acumen Machine Ltd. on Tagish Street on the reserve.

The total value of stolen or damaged property hasn’t been tallied, but Nagy believes the amount is more than $50,000.

Thea Stadnichuk, co-owner of GB Truck Sales, said space at the compound on West Athabasca Street is rented out to truck drivers and businesses in need of a place to store their vehicles and trailers.

The compound has operated at the location for three years with no previous problems.

Stadnichuk noticed the cut padlocks next to six cargo trailers Sunday afternoon. Holding up a Mastercraft Pro lock with a cut mechanism, she said it wouldn’t be easy to break.

“This isn’t a cheapy,” said Stadnichuk. The trailer didn’t have anything in it.

Other trailers held tools or rolls of copper wire. In each case the locks were cut but nothing was taken, she said.

A Ford F150 and GMC pickup had the drivers’ side door handles pried off and the windows smashed. Stadnichuk said an all-terrain vehicle sat in the back of the Ford on Friday. It was gone Sunday.

“It’s like they couldn’t take the truck, so off they went,” she said.

She also found a trailer that wasn’t supposed to be on the property. This turned out to be the one taken from the Petro-Canada.

The suspects cut a lock on a gate at the rear of the compound and another at the front entry. Either Stadnichuk or her dad is at the business at all times, but no one was disturbed by unusual activity during the night.

“People are always coming and going,” she said.

Nagy said police haven’t ruled out the possibility the culprits were behind the theft of a cargo trailer in Westsyde about two weeks ago. The trailer contained a house full of a family’s belongings.

She said thieves are often more interested in the trailer than the cargo. The trailers are kept, used to commit other crimes, or sold along with the items inside.

Anyone with information is asked to phone Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

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