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The small-town judge was not in the mood for forgiveness.
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No, consequences were on the menu for my late uncle that day in 1950. He had been pinched for boosting cars, and he was just 17 years old.
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“You have a choice here today, son,” the judge told him, as per my uncle. “You can do two years in juvenile detention or…
“You can serve your country.”
My uncle chose the latter and was fighting in the hills of Korea in less than a year. Of course, in the Canada of 2024, he could still be stealing cars in his dotage.
And why not? Such cataclysmic choices like jail or fighting in the Korean War would be unspeakable, and unthinkable for the courts, activists and the convicted.
On Monday, Peel Regional Police released the results of Project Odyssey. The probe targeted an organized crime group they say is responsible for stealing cars on a grand scale in the GTA and then shipping them to the Port of Montreal.
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Cops say the stolen vehicles were moved through a Brampton trucking yard before being transported to Montreal.
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The seven-month investigation resulted in 26 arrests, 322 charges and 10 additional arrest warrants issued. A staggering 369 stolen vehicles — with a value of $33.2 million — were recovered in Peel alone. Another 114 vehicles were recovered in Montreal.
The vehicles were destined for the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
This is all good news until you get to the part about the accused. That’s the eye-opener.
According to cops, 14 of the 26 arrested were already on release for auto theft charges. And — SHOCK! HORROR! — eight have already been sprung.
“We see repeated individuals continue to victimize our community,” Peel Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah told reporters, “14 of the 26 arrested, that’s over half of them, were already on a form of release or bail for auto theft-related offences.
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“People are maximizing on the low risk, high reward criminal activity.”
Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown added: “Eight of the individuals charged have already been released. That is not acceptable. We can’t have a criminal justice system that’s a revolving door.”
Yeah, wanna bet on it?
“Over the last 18 months, we have arrested close to 200 individuals, laid approximately 1,600 auto theft-related offence charges, and recovered close to $100 million in stolen vehicles,” Duraiappah said.
Great. Cops did their jobs but the courts? Not so much.
Along with the vehicles, there are firearms, drugs and a bonanza of other alleged crimes in Project Odyssey.
When this parade of accused criminals stands in a courtroom to face the music, they will not have a gun to their heads as my uncle did.
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They will be embraced as if they are lost angels.
The rest of us can count on a benevolent judge, soft-hearted social workers, activists and advocates ready to drop the gloves and go over the boards for this gang.
Cops bust ’em. Judges and Justices of the Peace will spring them.
Maybe in the future we can cut to the chase for these folks.
As a long-dead judge once said: “You can do two years in juvenile detention or… you can serve your country.”
Anyone with any information, please contact investigators in the Commercial Auto Crime Bureau at 905-453-2121, ext. 3313, or via email at [email protected].
@HunterTOSun
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