B.C. man accused of stealing dozens of packages intended for other residents of his apartment building

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Mounties in Burnaby, B.C., say they arrested a "prolific offender" in his apartment near Metrotown last month after receiving several reports of packages being stolen in the same building.

"Leading up to Christmas, between October and December 2021, the Burnaby RCMP responded to several reports of package theft at an apartment building near Dunblane Avenue and Imperial Street," Burnaby RCMP said in a news release this week.

The detachment's "Prolific Offender Suppression Team" was assigned to the case and "quickly identified a suspect who was known to them," police said.

The team arrested the 42-year-old suspect on Dec. 23, but Burnaby RCMP did not publicize the arrest until nearly a month later.

Police said more than $5,000 worth of merchandise was stolen from residents of the building, and dozens of victims of the thefts were identified.

Still, Mounties have not yet forwarded charges to the B.C. Prosecution Service. They said the investigation is ongoing, and they plan to recommend "at least 10 charges" against the suspect.

Parcel theft is unfortunately fairly common, especially during the holiday season, but police said most cases don't involve suspects allegedly stealing from people living under the same roof.

“This was an unusual situation, where the suspect was allegedly committing crime so close to his home, knowingly victimizing his neighbours,” said Insp. Matt Toews, an investigative services officer with the Burnaby RCMP, in the release.

“We are proud of the quick action taken by POST in identifying a suspect and making an arrest.”