23 | durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, December 15, 2023 | warehouse sale huge savings on • cookies • chocolates • candies • gift baskets factoRY oUtlet 680 gRanite coURt pickeRing 416-750-8807 www.waterbridge.net open 7 days a week until christmas! Mon - sat 9 - 5 sUn 10 - 4 RETAIL PRICE! UP TO70%OFF 416-750-8807 ext. 252 www.waterbridge.net Open 7 Days A Week Until Christmas! Four people have been charged after an investigation by Durham police into so-called grandparent scams that resulted in thousands of dollars in losses for victims. The arrests relate to instances in which seniors were targeted, police said. Victims received a phone call informing them that a grandchild was in police custody and in need of funds to get out of jail. Scammers arranged for a "bondsman" to attend the victims' homes to pick up the cash, police said. Victims lost a total of more than $37,000. "In one incident, after the money was received, the senior victim received another phone call from the suspect stating that more money was required for the grandchild's release," police said. Investigators have identified three victims, but believe there may be others, police said. An investigation continues. Facing charges including fraud and participation in a criminal organization are Dominique Alexander- Connell, 22, of Brampton; Kamar Minto, 20, of Hamilton; David Maah, 23, of St.Laurent, Que. and Fuad Jama, 27, of no fixed address. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 905-579-1520, ext. 5321 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 222-8477. FOUR ARRESTED AFTER SENIORS TARGETED IN GRANDPARENT SCAMS JEFF MITCHELL jmitchell@ durhamregion.com A multi-jurisdictional probe led by York Regional Police into the criminal networks funding and feeding the increase in violent carjackings across the GTA has led to $1.4-million in vehicles being recovered. Operation GTA, a joint-forces operation, began in June after police noticed an increase in carjackings during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. "These often-violent crimes of opportunity, many involving armed suspects, continue to cause havoc in our communities and pose serious risk to public safety," police stated in a Nov. 15 news release. "Many of the carjacked vehicles once stolen are often used to commit other violent crimes, such as retail robberies and other carjackings." As part of the investigation, multiple arrests and search warrants were executed on Oct. 11 and 12. This resulted in 16 people charged with 116 offences. Investigators recovered 19 stolen vehicles worth around $1.4-million and identified an additional 50 vehicles with their vehicle identification number altered worth more than $5-million. Police believe some of these vehicles with altered VINs have been resold to unsuspecting buyers. Led by YRP, the multi-jurisdictional task-force also included Toronto Police Service, Durham Regional Police Service, Halton Regional Police Service, Peel Regional Police and Ontario Provincial Police. Funding was provided by the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario, which went toward supporting investigative resources to co-ordinate investigations across jurisdictional boundaries. Police released a video to their YouTube channel highlighting the operation. Anyone with information about York Region occurrences is asked to contact the York Regional Police Hold-Up Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6631, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 222-8477, or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com. 116 CHARGES LAID IN PROBE INTO 'VIOLENT' CARJACKINGS ACROSS GTA AILEEN ZANGOUEI azangouei@yrmg.com CRIME