The multi-jurisdictional bank robbery investigation involving the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Barrie Police has led to the charge of another suspect.
The investigation known as Project Opal regarded a series of eight armed bank robberies occurred in multiple jurisdictions across the province that took place between December 8, 2022; and March 16, 2024, including one in Barrie.
Each police service involved initially investigated their respective incident, but after investigators identified consistent patterns suggesting the involvement of a single group of suspects, the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) assumed a coordinating role in August 2023.
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Investigators determinestwo or three individuals entered the bank shortly before closing during each robbery. Different disguises were worn by the perpetrators in each occurrence and were each armed with at least one handgun.
Bank employees were bound in each of the last six robberies, and the group of suspects was determined to be responsible for more than $2 million in reported losses across eight banks. The stolen funds have not yet been recovered.
On June 21, 2024, three suspects were arrested during an attempted robbery in Field, Ont. by the OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit and the OPP Aviation Unit, with support from West Nipissing OPP Crime Unit and CIB. A fourth suspect was arrested on Thursday, September 25, 2024, in Vaughan.
But Friday saw a fifth arrest stemming from the robberies, a 33-year-old man from Coburg, who was charged with two counts of robbery with a restricted or prohibited weapon.
Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46), Section 344
(1) Every person who commits robbery is guilty of an indictable offence and liable
(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, seven years;
(a) if a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm is used in the commission of the offence or if any firearm is used in the commission of the offence and the offence is committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal organization, to imprisonment for life and to a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of
(i) in the case of a first offence, five years
These charges are in relation to robberies in Barrie and Newmarket.
He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in an Oshawa court on July 8.
The fifth suspect, identified as a 33-year-old man from Ajax, remains wanted and is at large. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to not approach him and instead contact police immediately.
