Three brothers stand accused of stealing BlackBerry phones and other electronics and attempting to sell them online.
Waterloo Regional Police say they executed a search warrant at a home in Kitchener over the weekend.
Inside the Fenwick Court residence – near Victoria Street and Fischer-Hallman Road – officers found $33,000 worth of electronics.
“Police seized approximately 75 BlackBerrys, several tablets, several laptop computers and a number of batteries and BlackBerry accessories,” police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel tells CTV News.
Charged with theft and possession of stolen property are Ricky, Ajay and Ketan Champaneria.
Police say the devices are believed to have been stolen directly from BlackBerry, and people with the same names as two of the three brothers list themselves as working for the company on social media sites.
The investigation into the family began last November, when suspicious online activity was brought to police attention.
“Police became aware of information relating to items that were potentially stolen and offered for sale on Kijiji,” Heinzel says.
Although the devices were generally offered at prices significantly lower than retail levels, Heinzel says it’s not known whether the brothers were successful in selling any of the phones.
