Photo: Halton Police
The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) says a Scarborough man has been charged in connection to a number of retail thefts around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
In January 2023, the Halton Regional Police Service – 1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau and Retail Theft Unit initiated an investigation into a number of organized retail thefts that occurred throughout Halton, Peel and Toronto. The thefts occurred at retail stores between January and June of 2023 and included the theft of items such as perfumes, designer clothing, and personal hygiene products.
On Sunday, June 25th, the investigation was completed and resulted in the arrest of 36-year-old Vasile-Ilie Costache of Scarborough.
He has been charged with:
- Theft Under $5000 (five counts)
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5000
- Trafficking Stolen Property
An involved storage facility was searched and a significant amount of suspected stolen property was seized. The estimated value of the recovered clothing and perfume is roughly $150,000. Additionally, the Chevrolet Traverse used to commit the alleged thefts was seized by police.
A second suspect was also identified during the investigation and is currently wanted by police, but no name, description or photo were provided.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the 1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4777 ext. 2416.
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.
