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Red Deer RCMP recent arrests include seizures of fentanyl and carfentanil

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9 minute read

February 9, 2018

Red Deer, Alberta – Recent arrests by Red Deer RCMP have involved seizures of fentanyl and carfentanil, property crimes and fraud, and the continued focus on prolific offenders who fail to comply with court-imposed conditions. Many arrests have been thanks to targeted patrols in areas that show high levels of criminal activity, as part of Red Deer’s Pinpoint crime reduction strategy. Pinpoint uses an intelligence-driven policing model to identify problem areas, prolific offenders and emerging issues, and Red Deer RCMP target their enforcement accordingly.

February 5 – 2018157742
At 1:15 am on February 5, RCMP on patrol in downtown Red Deer located a woman who was wanted on outstanding warrants. During her arrest, RCMP seized crystal meth.

44 year old Tamara Dawn Johnson faces the following charges:
· CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance X 2
· Criminal Code 145(3) – Fail to comply with conditions
Johnson is scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 13 at 8:30 am.

January 31 – 2018139725
At 10:15 pm on January 31, RCMP on patrol in downtown Red Deer located a female suspect who was wanted on a number of outstanding warrants from four separate files. During her arrest, police seized methamphetamine and carfentanil.

In addition to her warrants, 34 year old Tomasina Ballentyne faces the following charges:
· CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance X 2
· Criminal Code 145(3) – Fail to comply with conditions X 2
Ballentyne was remanded to appear in court on February 2; she is scheduled to appear again on February 12 at 9:30 am.

January 31 – 2018135103
Shortly before 2 am on January 31, RCMP on patrol in a high crime area located a suspicious vehicle; as they approached, the male driver fled on foot but was arrested after a brief foot chase. RCMP seized a baggie of fentanyl and approximately $1,700 as proceeds of crime.

40 year old Ryan Michael Simoneau faces a charge of possession for the purpose of trafficking (CDSA 5(1)); he is scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 20 at 8:30 am.

January 31/ 30 – 2018138969/ 2018134164/ 20171260250
Shortly before 6 pm on January 31, RCMP responded to a report of a theft suspect being pursued by retail security staff after the theft of a backpack from a fitness facility. The suspect fled on foot and was seen getting on a Red Deer Transit bus. RCMP located the bus, executed a traffic stop, and removed the suspect. There was no impact on riders or interruption of transit service as a result of the arrest.

The suspect had been arrested the day before by Red Deer RCMP at a north end restaurant after police responded to a report of a disturbance and determined that the suspect was wanted on outstanding warrants after failing to appear in court on charges related to the theft of client items from a different fitness facility in September.

30 year old William James Webb faces the following charges for both incidents:
· Criminal Code 334(b) – Theft under $5,000 X 2
· Criminal Code 355(b) – Possession of stolen property under $5,000
· Criminal Code 145(5) – Fail to comply with conditions
· Criminal Code 145(2)(a) – Fail to attend court
Webb was scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 8 on one charge and on March 23 at 9:30 am for the others. He did not attend court today and the possession of stolen property charge has now gone to warrant status.

January 30 – 20171520442
Red Deer RCMP located and arrested 32 year old Jessie Singh Dodd, who was wanted on warrants after failing to appear in court regarding a November file in which he resisted arrest and was found to be in possession of weapons in violation of his probation. He appeared in court in Red Deer on February 2 and is scheduled to appear again on February 23 at 9:30 am.

January 29 – 2018126031
RCMP on patrol in a high crime area shortly after 1 am on January 29 located a stolen vehicle occupied by a male suspect. RCMP moved into position to surround the vehicle in case of an attempted flight from police, and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect was taken into custody without incident and police seized methamphetamine from him; at the time of his arrest, he was found to be breaching several court-imposed conditions.

51 year old Gordon Edouard Cameron faces the following charges:
· Criminal Code 355(a) – Possession of stolen property over $5,000
· Criminal Code 145(5.1) – Fail to comply with conditions X 2
· CDSA 4(1) – Possession of Schedule I substance
Cameron was remanded to appear in court in Red Deer on January 31; his next court appearance is scheduled for February 28 at 9:30 am.

January 25 – 2018108796/ 20171675122
In the early hours of January 25, Red Deer RCMP located two men in a vehicle in a high crime area who were wanted on numerous outstanding warrants; one was found to be breaching several court-imposed conditions at the time of his arrest, including a curfew condition and conditions not to be in a vehicle if he was not the registered owner.

42 year old Kirk Kuske was wanted on six warrants out of Ponoka for possession of stolen property (X 2), evade police, theft, obstruction, and operating a motor vehicle while disqualified. He now faces additional charges of:
· Criminal Code 145(3) – Fail to comply with conditions X 2
· Criminal Code 259(4) – Operate motor vehicle while disqualified
Kuske was remanded to appear in court in Red Deer on January 26; he is scheduled to appear again on February 13 at 9:30 am.

49 year old Craig Oliver was wanted on eight warrants out of Red Deer for fraud under $5,000 000 (CC 380(1)(b)) after Red Deer RCMP identified him as a suspect in repeated frauds committed at a local grocery store, where he is alleged to have used stolen credit cards to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of product over multiple visits. RCMP identified him after obtaining surveillance images and issued arrest warrants for eight separate incidents of fraud between September and December of 2017.

Craig Oliver made his first court appearance in Red Deer on February 6 and is scheduled to appear again on February 26 at 8:30 am.

January 24 – 201885973
On January 24, Red Deer RCMP located a man who was wanted on a warrant after RCMP conducting curfew checks on January 20 determined that he was violating his court-imposed curfew. Red Deer RCMP conduct curfew checks on identified individuals as part of Pinpoint, the Red Deer RCMP crime reduction strategy that targets prolific offenders, crime hot spots and problem residences.

28 year old Brandon William Wallner faces a charge of failing to comply with conditions and was remanded to appear in court in Red Deer on January 30; his next court appearance is scheduled for February 13 at 8:30 am.

January 24 – 2018106290
At 1:30 pm on January 24, RCMP responded to a report of shoplifters in a downtown store. RCMP attended and retrieved surveillance images of the male and female suspects, then located them nearby in the downtown. The female suspect was in possession of the stolen items at the time of her arrest.

23 year old Lateesha Flodell was wanted on three outstanding warrants out of Lacombe at the time of her arrest; she was charged with an additional charge of theft under $5,000 and was scheduled to appear in court in Red Deer on February 2. Flodell did not appear in court and those charges have now gone to warrant status.

President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

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Crime

Red Deer RCMP warn public regarding circulation of counterfeit currency

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News release from Red Deer RCMP

Red Deer RCMP are alerting the public to look out for counterfeit currency.

Red Deer RCMP have received multiple reports of transactions where $50 and $100 counterfeit bills were used or attempted to be used. Anyone in the area who handles currency are alerted to be on the lookout for suspicious bills and should they come into contact with it, report it to police.

The Bank of Canada has the following advice for dealing with counterfeit currency:

  • Politely refuse the note and explain that you suspect that it may be counterfeit.
  • Ask for another note (and check it too).
  • Advise the person to check the note with the local police.
  • Inform your local police of a possible attempt to pass suspected counterfeit money.
  • Be courteous. Remember that the person in possession of the bill could be an innocent victim who does not realize that the note is suspicious.

If you think you have come across counterfeit currency please contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-406-2200. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play.

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Business

DOJ charges 7 Chinese spies with targeting US political leaders, major businesses

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From LifeSiteNews

By Matt Lamb

The hackers ‘spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials’ as part of a massive Chinese espionage operation, according to the DOJ.

Hackers targeted defense contractors, American political leaders, and U.S. companies with malware as part of a surveillance operation for the Chinese Communist Party, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges.

The DOJ released details on the indictment of seven Chinese individuals who have been charged with “conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud,” according to a Monday news release.

The individuals are part of a People’s Republic of China (PRC) group who “spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives,” according to the DOJ.

Officials unsealed the indictment on Monday, though charges were originally filed in January.

The indictment provides further insight into how the CCP targets American companies and political leaders for retribution and influence using computer viruses.

The CCP and its Ministry of State Security “sought to obtain information on political, economic and security policies that might affect the PRC, along with military, scientific and technical information of value to the PRC,” the indictment states. “Among other things, the MSS and its state security departments focused on surreptitiously identifying and influencing the foreign policy of other countries, including the United States.”

The hackers used a front company called Wuhan XRZ beginning in at least 2010. They would send fake emails to U.S. senators, business leaders, and information technology companies looking to gain access. They were successful in hacking defense contractors, information technology providers, and universities, among other victims.

The DOJ itself was targeted, along the Commerce Department, the Treasury Department, and the White House.

The Justice Department alleges:

These computer network intrusion activities resulted in the confirmed and potential compromise of work and personal email accounts, cloud storage accounts and telephone call records belonging to millions of Americans, including at least some information that could be released in support of malign influence targeting democratic processes and institutions, and economic plans, intellectual property, and trade secrets belonging to American businesses, and contributed to the estimated billions of dollars lost every year as a result of the PRC’s state-sponsored apparatus to transfer U.S. technology to the PRC.

“If the recipient activated the tracking link by opening the email, information about the recipient, including the recipient’s location, IP addresses, network schematics and specific devices used to access the pertinent email accounts, was transmitted to a server controlled by the Conspirators,” the DOJ stated. “The Conspirators used this method to enable more direct and sophisticated targeting of recipients’ home routers and other electronic devices, including those of high ranking U.S. government officials and politicians and election campaign staff from both major U.S. political parties.”

In just a few months in 2018, the hackers “sent more than 10,000 malicious email messages” to “high-ranking U.S. government officials and their advisors, including officials involved in international policy and foreign trade issues.”

They also targeted campaign staff for “a presidential campaign” in 2020. The filing does not state which campaign.

European Union and United Kingdom leaders who were part of the anti-Communist Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China were also targeted.

Other victims included: “a nuclear power engineering company,” a defense contractor, an aerospace contractor, and “a leading American manufacturer of software and computer services based in California.”

Telecommunications companies, law firms, and steel companies were also targeted.

The CCP impersonated real steel companies in order to gain access to their emails during a battle over tariffs on China. After the Trump administration announced new steel tariffs in 2018, the hackers “registered a malicious domain impersonating the legitimate domain of one of the largest steel producers in the United States (the ‘American Steel Company’)” as well as the International Steel Trade Forum.

“These malicious domains allowed the Conspirators to communicate with malware they installed on the network of the American Steel Company to access and surveil the victim,” the DOJ stated.

They also targeted the Norwegian government in 2018 because it was considering awarding the Nobel Prize to Hong Kong democracy activists.

The PRC is a “malicious nation state,” a federal prosecutor stated in the DOJ news release.

“These allegations pull back the curtain on China’s vast illegal hacking operation that targeted sensitive data from U.S. elected and government officials, journalists, and academics; valuable information from American companies; and political dissidents in America and abroad. Their sinister scheme victimized thousands of people and entities across the world, and lasted for well over a decade,”  U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York stated in the news release.

“America’s sovereignty extends to its cyberspace. Today’s charges demonstrate my office’s commitment to upholding and protecting that jurisdiction, and to putting an end to malicious nation state cyber activity.”

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