LANDFILL THIEF CAUGHT

Since February 2016, the Oliver RCMP has received 27 reports of thefts from the SIBCO landfill site located off Black Sage Road in Oliver.

The landfill in Osoyoos has experienced a similar increase in thefts.

Thieves have been stealing scrap metal and used batteries from the site. Despite efforts from the RDOS to secure the site, the thefts continued, primarily due to the remote and secluded location of the site(s).

Oliver RCMP initiated an aggressive strategy to curtail the theft problem. In the early hours of July 3rd, 2016, Oliver RCMP officers apprehended a suspect inside the landfill. The male was found in possession of break and entering tools and was arrested.

38 year old Brian Barata of Oliver has been charged with attempted Theft Under $5000, and Possession of Breaking and Entering Tools. Barata appeared before a Justice of the Peace and was released on strict conditions, including an 8 pm curfew and a prohibition from attending any scrap metal dealers, and from attending any landfills in the South Okanagan. His next court date is scheduled for July 20th, 2016 at the Penticton Law Courts.

Oliver RCMP would like to take this opportunity to remind the public that landfill are private property and that accessing the site, after hours, constitutes a criminal offence of break and entering.