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Calgary police have shut down a counterfeiting lab and charged two people after the suspects’ neighbors at a Beltline apartment building reported missing packages and mail.
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The apartment board at a complex in the 500 block of 12th Avenue SW contacted their community resource officer in October, after residents had several packages and other mail stolen by another tenant. According to the police, the officer worked with the complainants and passed on evidence of the thefts to an investigative team.
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On December 2, officers executed a search warrant on the property and a vehicle.
Police found four of five missing packages along with a credit card identification and counterfeiting lab, IDs with the defendant’s photo but with assumed names, and several credit cards and pieces of identification with other people’s names. There were also hundreds of pieces of mail from businesses and residential buildings in Calgary.
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Officers also discovered an upper receiver and barrel of a Glock handgun.
“This is a great example of the community and officers working together to identify suspicious activity, which led to an investigation that uncovered a counterfeiting lab that likely impacted hundreds of Calgarians,” said District 1 Staff Sgt. Kurt Jacobs.
“Thank you to the apartment council and tenants who shed light on the situation. By working together we can ensure that unwanted and illegal activities are dealt with.”
As a result of the search, both suspects were arrested.
Erin Lindsay Emerson, 46, is charged with two counts of possession of stolen property, one count of possession of forged instruments and one count of possession of forged documents.
Steven Edward Hart, 38, is charged with one count of violating a release order, two counts of possession of stolen property, one count of possession of forged instruments and one count of possession of forged documents.
Hart remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on December 12. Emerson is due in court on January 3.
sbabych@postmedia.com
