A 30-year-old Surrey man has been charged with 17 counts of mail theft after a four-month investigation by the Surrey RCMP.
Corporal Joanie Sidhu said the crimes Nickolas Kelly is alleged to have committed occurred in “multiple Lower Mainland jurisdictions.”
She said the investigation began March 24, 2020, after police received a report of a break-in and theft of mail in the 16300-block of 64 Avenue.
“Officers with the Surrey RCMP Property Crime Target Team (PCTT) took conduct of the investigation, identified a suspect, and linked the break and enter to a series of other similar offences in Surrey, Delta, Richmond and North Vancouver,” Sidhu said.
Kelly was charged on July 2 with 17 counts of mail theft-related offences and warrants were issued for his arrest. He was arrested on July 7 and has been in custody since then.
Staff Sergeant Ryan Element, acting Proactive Enforcement Officer, said it was a “complex” investigation.
“Mail theft isn’t just inconvenient for victims, it can put them unknowingly at risk for identity theft,” he said. “Our investigators were quickly able to connect the dots between numerous files resulting in the arrest and charges.”
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