There are 137,000 stories in the Royal City, and this is some of them. Looking at a week’s worth of media releases from the Guelph Police Service, there’s a lot gong on in our little city crime-wise speaking, so let’s run down some of the charges, issues, and requests for information from the Guelph Police Service over the last seven days.

***Please note that not all offenses and police calls are reported in the daily Guelph Police media release.

Two Arrested and $75,000 in Drugs Seized 

The Drug Enforcement Unit brought in quite the haul after a traffic stop led to a search of two Guelph residences on Thursday night. Police collected $57,050 worth of cocaine, $15,990 worth of MDMA, and $3,515 worth of cannabis plus nearly $2,000 in Canadian currency, 9mm ammunition, and a 2014 luxury sedan. A 21-year-old Guelph man and 20-year-old Campbelville woman were each charged with two counts of possessing controlled substances for the purposes of trafficking and trafficking in cocaine. The man is also charged with possessing cannabis for the purpose of selling under the Cannabis Act.

Two Smash and Grabs in Different Ends of Guelph

There were two break and enters last weekend in which windows were smashed in the course of a robbery. The first one was just after 11 pm on Friday in the area of Gordon and Lowes where three people took part in a robbery; one broke the window and the other two stole some product ant the cash register. Then, around 4 am on Sunday, the door was smashed in and a computer was stolen from a business on Watson near York.

All three suspects are described as white males. One was wearing a red and black plaid jacket, black baseball cap and a red bandana over his face. The second was wearing a navy blue hoodie and black balaclava. The third was shorter than the first two and wearing a black jacket with grey sleeves, black baseball cap and a mask. At the Gordon break-in, the suspects were spotted on video arriving in a red GMC pickup with the licence plate covered.

If you have any information, call Constable Breanne McDonald at 519-824-1212, ext. 7428, or email her at bmcdonald [at] guelphpolice.ca.

More Crypto Scams Target Investors

The Guelph Police Fraud Unit is warning people that might be interested in investing in cryptocurrency to beware of scams along those lines. Although not a local phenomenon, the scam is pretty straightforward as victims are reached through social media and convinced to make investments through a third-party site. The suspect is well-versed in cryptocurrency, and promises a big return on investment.

In one such case, a victim tried to withdraw funds and they’re told that they cannot get access to their money unless they make another substantial investment. After that, the suspect will either cut off contact, or try and delay the victim from withdrawing their funds by enforcing terms of service or threatening a loss of money for early withdrawal.

Here are some warning signs that you might be about to become the victim of a scam:

• Brokers use non-traditional means to contact you, such as the WhatsApp texting app, Facebook, etc.;
• The website they direct you to only has email or a site-based chat as a means of contacting them;
• The investor contacts you by using a variety of email addresses and phone numbers;
• The text messages and reports contain grammar or spelling mistakes;
• Their introduction will be inaccurate; for example, referring to you by your first name, i.e. Mr. John instead of Mr. Smith;
• The promise of large returns on your investment (150-200% returns per investment). If it sounds too be good to be true, it probably is;
• The scammer may use a romantic angle to gain your trust;
• They may allow you access to their own username on the fraudulent site then direct you how to invest and show you just how much money you could be earning;
• There may be translations from other languages within the email
• Be very leery of people contacting you on social media who, within a short period of time ask you to invest with them or begin discussing how much money they are earning with their investments and how you too could make a lot of money if you follow their directions.

Assault

An 18-year-old Oakville male turned himself in to Guelph Police on Monday after being sought for two counts each of assault and uttering threats. The suspect was flailing his fists at paramedics who attended a call at Chancellor’s Way while trying to treat him. He had suffered head injuries in a fall.

Break-Ins

An eight-person tent and full propane tank were among the items stolen from several storage lockers in an apartment building at Woolwich and Marilyn. If you have an information call Constable Greg Mitchell at 519-824-1212, ext. 7170, or email him at gmitchell [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 28-year-old Guelph man was charged with break and enter and breaching probation after a fingerprint left at a break-in at a business on Silvercreek Parkway last June was connected to him.

Police are looking for two men than entered a business at Edinburgh Road South and Municipal Street at 5:30 on Wednesday morning but took off when the alarm sounded. Nothing was taken, but $300 in damage was done to the business. The men are described as wearing all black with their hoods up and faces covered by masks. If you have any information, call Constable Paul Hinchliffe at 519-824-1212, ext. 7408, or email him at phinchliffe [at] guelphpolice.ca.

Theft

A 32-year-old Guelph man is charged with theft, two counts of possessing a controlled substance and breaching a conditional sentence order after he was arrested for shoplifting at a Stone Road business on Thursday.

An orange 2019 Subaru Crosstrek SUV containing tools and work clothes was stolen from a driveway on Yewholme Drive sometime overnight between Thursday and Friday. If you have any information call Constable Thomas Randell at 519-824-1212, ext. 7194, or email him at trandell [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 39-year-old Guelph man was charged with theft under $5,000 after stealing $3,000 in cash from a wallet left in a car outside a business at Woolwich and Speedvale.

A catalytic converter was stolen from car at a dealership at Elmira and Malcolm sometime overnight on Friday, two suspects were caught on video surveillance. If you have any information, call Constable Rob Smith at 519-824-1212, ext. 7388, or email him at rsmith [at] guelphpolice.ca.

A 50-year-old Guelph man was charged with theft under $5,000 and escaping lawful custody after being caught stealing $350 in product at a Stone Road business, and then fled from the loss prevention officer while they were waiting for the police to arrive.

Traffic

A 23-year-old Guelph man was charged under the Highway Traffic Act with driving while suspend, and his car was impounded for a week after police stopped him near Wellington and Waterloo on Wednesday morning.

A 31-year-old Guelph man was charged with dangerous driving, assault with a weapon, mischief over $5,000, failing to stop at a collision and breaching a recognizance after several calls about a collision in the area of Waterloo and St. Arnaud. One vehicle rammed into another car causing significant damage, and destroying the trailer it was pulling.

Other Notes

A 60-year-old Guelph man was arrested for child pornography on Thursday evening after local police received a Canada-wide warrant from British Columbia.

A 26-year-old Guelph man was arrested for pulling a false alarm at a Carden Street apartment building on Wednesday.

A 30-year-old Puslinch woman was charged with failing to appear in court after she missed her date stemming from incident in January she struck a police office in the head at a north-end hotel.

A Guelph man was charged with possessing an identity document and failing to comply with a bail condition after being picked up on an outstanding warrant. A police search when he was taken into custody revealed a wallet containing identification and credit cards in another male’s name.

Total calls for service last week: 1,401

If you have any information about the crimes or incidents mentioned above, you can also call Guelph Wellington Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or post online at csgw.tips.