BRAMPTON, Ontario -- Police arrested three armed men, allegedly planning to ambush armored car guards refilling ATMs, in an Oct. 29 sting operation, according to a report in the Toronto Sun.
A money delivery by Universal guards was called off when detectives warned the company. Police then set up their sting to ambush the thieves instead.
Two men entered the CIBC branch, bypassing the security system within seconds, while a third man waited in a stolen van. Peel and York tactical teams stormed the bank and detectives arrested the driver, according to the Sun.
Police seized two loaded handguns and an AK-47. "Obviously, they were prepared for a confrontation," said York Detective Lou Malbeuf.
The three -- Charles Dillon, 64, of Oakville, Paul Bryntwick, 51, and David Stachula, 34, both of Montreal -- are also suspects in eight other armored car heists in Bramalea, Newmarket and Quebec since 1998.
Detective Gerry Conroy said he estimates the total take in the robberies to be about $1.5 million, none of which has been recovered.
An investigation into the robberies was launched following a November 2001 heist, in which robbers made off with $222,000.
Police said one of the suspects is considered among the best in bypassing alarm systems and was on bail awaiting trial for eight ATM thefts in Halton in 2001. One of his court imposed conditions was to stay out of Ontario except for trial.
Following the arrest, a team of Peel, Halton and York officers discovered radio scanners, night-vision binoculars, fake beards, two-way radios, nine firearms including a pistol-grip shotgun, an AK-47, a .44-Magnum, and silencers, ammunition clips and a stun gun in searches of a hotel room, an Oakville house and two vehicles.
The three men face numerous firearms, robbery and conspiracy charges, according to the Sun.
