South Okanagan RCMP crack down on car thiefs

South Okanagan RCMP spent five days in June cracking down on car theft in the region. Officers with the Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team, or IMPACT, joined with South Okanagan members for a five-day operation in response to an increase of vehicle theft. “The Penticton RCMP remains committed to investigating property crime in the region and greatly values the invaluable knowledge and expertise provided by a specialized unit like IMPACT,” RCMP Supt. Beth McAndie of the RCMP said in the release. Many stolen vehicles were recovered in the Penticton area and a 40-year-old repeat offender was arrested. The suspect is in custody facing several charges. In addition to the crackdown, officers in Oliver and Midway located and recovered several stolen vehicles last month including three cars, two motor homes, one utility trailer and an excavator. Five suspects were arrested and will appear in court in the future. “Reducing Auto Theft and Property Crime is a shared responsibility and RCMP encourage everyone to lock their vehicles, use additional after market immobilizers, and encourage people not leave valuables inside vehicles,” Const. Jessie Byers of the Penticton Crime Reduction Unit said in the release. Anyone with information related to such crimes are reminded to call Penticton RCMP or Crime Stoppers at 1(800) 222-8477. To contact a reporter for this story, email Bailey Zimmer mailto:bzimmer@infonews.ca  or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .