in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 26 ,2 02 0 | 14 In the week that saw Hal- ton Region enter the CO- VID-19 red zone along with other areas -- the regions of Hamilton, Peel and York, as well as the City of Toronto -- there has been an "alarm- ing" level of resurgence in new COVID-19 cases. During an announce- ment on Nov. 13, Premier Doug Ford said that the province is "staring down the barrel of another lock- down." The red zone gives way to more stringent measures to control the spread of the vi- rus, including: • Gathering limit for all organized public events and social gatherings to 10 peo- ple indoors and 25 people outdoors. The numbers also apply to gyms and fitness studios. • All sports and recre- ational programs in other facilities (arenas and multi- plexes) limited to 10 people per room indoors and 25 outdoors. • Team sports must not be practised or played ex- cept for training (no games or scrimmage). • No contact permitted for team or individual sports. • Maximum number of patrons permitted to be seated indoors for dining/ restaurants is 10. • Dancing, singing and the live performance of brass or wind instruments are prohibited. As for the number of cases, data from the website of Halton Public Health shows that from Nov. 12 to 18 there were 316 new infec- tions across Halton, an in- crease from 299 posted the previous week. The number of active cases stood at 297, up two from last week. There were also 19 resolved cases. Outbreaks at various long-term-care and retire- ment homes also resulted in more deaths. As of Nov. 18, there have been 3,092 confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases in Halton since the pandemic started, with 2,485 consid- ered resolved and 47 deaths. With files from Louie Ro- sella WEEKLY ROUNDUP: HALTON ENTERS RED ZONE AS ANOTHER LOCKDOWN LOOMS BAMBANG SADEWO bsadewo@metroland.com NEWS REGION SEES FURTHER CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS Halton police are investi- gating following a recent rise in vehicle thefts in Oak- ville. Det. Omar Nadim said car thieves have been steal- ing particular vehicles from residential driveways be- tween 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. He said they have been going after 2017-2020 Lexus vehicles, including models RX350 and GX460, Toyota Highlander vehicles and Land Rover's Ranger Rover model. Police said similar thefts are occurring throughout the Greater Toronto Area because these vehicles are in high demand overseas and are often shipped to North Africa, Asia and Europe. Nadim said these vehi- cles typically have no track- ing capability from the man- ufacturer or dealership, making recovery difficult once the vehicle is stolen. He said the majority of the thefts are committed with a signal relay device. "It appears that the tech- nology used may be access- ing the signal transmitted by the vehicle's key fobs," said Nadim. "Once inside the vehicle, the suspects are able to start the vehicle and drive away within minutes of their ar- rival at the residence." He said security footage has shown suspects ap- proaching the residences on foot, then utilizing a device to defeat the vehicles' securi- ty systems. Police are encouraging residents to: • Park your vehicle with- in a locked/secure garage as the majority of the vehicles are stolen from residential driveways • If a garage is not acces- sible, park another vehicle behind it in the driveway to act as a physical barrier to its removal • Lock the data port using a simple device that can be purchased online and blocks access to the computer port where thieves gain access to reprogram the vehicle's keys • Invest in an aftermarket global positioning system tracker or have one installed by the dealer, as it may assist in recovery of the vehicle if it is stolen • Ensure your unattend- ed vehicle(s) are locked and secure • Never leave spare keys in your vehicle • Never leave spare keys outside of your residence • When not in use, place vehicle keys inside a radio frequency shielding bag/ pouch to block cell signals • Equip your vehicle with an alarm • Use other devices to de- ter thefts (e.g. steering wheel locking device) • Consider purchasing a quality video surveillance system and ensure your cameras are properly placed and functioning for 24-hour use Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact Halton po- lice at 905-825-4747 ext. 2278 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 222-TIPS (8477). VEHICLE THEFTS ON THE RISE CRIME Halton police say three people are facing hundreds of charges in connection with distraction thefts that targeted female seniors in this region and across the Greater Toronto Area. Det. Const. Derek Gray said the group was active in Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Georgetown during the first few months of 2020. He noted the group would attend grocery stores, Wal- marts and other retail loca- tions where there was likely to be a large population of se- niors. One individual would be inside the store and would watch as the senior entered their PIN at the checkout counter. When the senior left the store, Gray said, a second suspect would create some kind of distraction. "They might approach and say the senior's car ap- peared to be leaking oil or something. Sometimes they would offer to help the se- nior load their groceries into their car," said Gray. "While they're distracted another person would come and sneak into the purse, which was typically on the front seat of the vehicle, and take out a couple of credit cards they wanted." On other occasions, a sus- pect would approach claim- ing the senior had dropped some money in the store. It's alleged the suspect would then reach into the victim's purse or wallet to put the money back and then covertly remove the credit/ debit cards. With the credit/debit cards and PINs, Gray said, the suspects would then al- legedly make purchases and take out cash advances until the cards were cancelled. Police said this group is believed to be responsible for stealing between $30,000 and $40,000 from local seniors fol- lowing 12-15 distraction thefts in Halton. Halton, however, was not the only community where the suspects were active, with Gray noting distraction thefts attributed to this group occurred in Niagara, Guelph, Durham Region, York Region, Barrie and To- ronto. Gray said he worked with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Toronto po- lice, Montreal police and others as part of a joint effort to track these suspects down, which was dubbed Project Waldo. "We worked with all of our GTA police partners sharing information and im- ages. We did end up getting the licence plates of some of their rental vehicles and we tracked them in that sort of manner," said Gray. "We did work with Cana- da Border Services to find people they were related to or may have come into the country with. Through that process we ended up identi- fying associates in the GTA who they might be living with or temporarily housing with." In early June, a 46-year- old man was arrested in To- ronto. A second individual, a 36- year-old man, was arrested in Montreal on Aug. 3, while a 29-year-old man was re- cently arrested by CBSA in British Columbia. Halton police have laid fraud and identity theft re- lated charges against each of these individuals. They have also charged them with participating in the activities of a criminal organization. In total, Gray said, these individuals face around 300 charges from police services across the GTA. While the individuals were residing in Burlington and North York, Gray said, they are all Eastern Europe- an nationals who were in Canada on visitor visas. Gray emphasized that de- spite these arrests there is still a need for residents to be vigilant. He said he is currently in- vestigating another group that has been stealing purses from female seniors at gro- cery stores, mostly in Oak- ville and Burlington. Gray said the thieves strike when the victim brief- ly leaves their purse in their shopping cart to get some- thing from a shelf. He noted residents can protect themselves by: • Leaving SIN cards, pass- ports and birth certificates at home • Keeping your handbag with you at all times • Never leaving your purse or wallet unattended • Keeping purse zippers or snaps closed • Being extra vigilant in crowded locations • Keeping your wallet at the bottom of your bag • Never writing down PIN codes or passwords and keeping them in your purse or wallet • Having a different PIN for each credit/debit card • Not carrying large amounts of money • Watching out for people trying to distract you • Being aware of your sur- roundings and reporting any suspicious activity to po- lice. If a wallet or purse theft does occur, Gray said to call 911 if the theft is in progress. If the theft is discovered later, he said the victim should report it to Halton po- lice at 905-825-4747 or online at www.haltonpolice.ca. Residents should also in- form their bank and credit card company about lost or stolen cards. If a cellphone is stolen, residents should contact the service provider. TRIO FACES HUNDREDS OF CHARGES FOLLOWING DISTRACTION THEFTS DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com