465 pieces of mail stolen from homes in Mississauga, Brampton; 8 men face 344 charges

Eight men face a combined 344 charges after more than 460 pieces of mail that contained cheques, credit cards and government ID were stolen from home mailboxes in Mississauga and Brampton earlier this year by an organized group of thieves, police say.

In total, Peel Regional Police, in collaboration with Halton Regional Police, say they’ve recovered 465 pieces of stolen mail that, collectively, contain items valued at more than $400,000.

Among the recovered items are 255 cheques, 182 credit cards, 35 pieces of government identification and 20 gift cards, Peel police said in a news release on Friday afternoon.

The two police forces launched a joint investigation in April with Canada Post, dubbed Project Undeliverable, in response to “a series of mail thefts occurring throughout Peel,” the release stated.

“The investigation uncovered a group of individuals working together to target residential mailboxes, resulting in widespread theft and disruption to community members,” Peel police said.

As the probe continued, police said they executed search warrants on Sept. 8 and 9 at “multiple residences” in Mississauga, specifically in the areas of Rhinebank Street and Brandon Gate Drive as well as Dwiggin Avenue and Kittridge Drive in Malton, near Toronto Pearson Airport.

“As a result, hundreds of pieces of stolen mail were recovered, including credit cards, gift cards, various forms of government identification and more than 250 cheques,” police added.

Map shows concentration of mail thefts earlier this year in Mississauga. (Image: Peel Regional Police)

Facing numerous charges are:

• Sumanpreet Singh, 28, of Mississauga (84 charges)
• Gurdeep Chattha, 29, of Mississauga (46 charges)
• Jashandeep Jattana, 23, of Mississauga (129 charges)
• Harman Singh, 28, of Brampton (30 charges)
• Jasanpreet Singh, 21, of Brampton (six charges)
• Manroop Singh, 23, of Brampton (four charges)
• Rajbir Singh, 26, of no fixed address (21 charges)
• Upinderjit Singh, 28, of no fixed address (24 charges)

All eight were held for a bail hearing and have made first appearances in Brampton court.

Peel police say they’re “actively engaged” with the Peel Crown Attorney’s Office and Canada Border Services Agency to determine “whether removal of accused foreign nationals from Canada may be pursued as part of the judicial process.”

The investigation continues.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call police at 905-453-2121, ext. 2133, or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.