An Oakville man has been arrested by Toronto Police following a series of armed bank and retail robberies across the GTA.
Between Saturday, February 8th and Tuesday, February 25th, officers from Toronto, Guelph, Hamilton, Peel, Halton, and Niagara Regions responded to fourteen bank robberies and two retail robbery calls.
A video of a robbery is available here.
It is alleged that in each incident that a lone male suspect entered each business and displayed a knife. He wore a mask to disguise his identity in several incidents. He approached an employee and made demands for cash, before fleeing with they money.
Members of Toronto Police Hold Up Squad began a collaborative multi-jurisdictional investigation with the Peel Regional Police Central Robbery Bureau, Halton Regional Police Robbery Unit, Hamilton Police Service B.E.A.R. Unit and members from the Guelph Police Service and Niagara Regional Police Service Criminal Investigations Bureaus. They received assistance throughout the investigation from numerous police resources including Toronto Police Intelligence Services and were able to identify the suspect.
On Wednesday, February 26th, members of the Hold Up Squad, with the assistance of officers from Toronto Police Public Safety Response Team, located the suspect and took him into custody.
It is further alleged that, at the time of arrest, officers recovered a quantity of cash
Members then executed a Criminal Code Search Warrant in relation to the investigation.
It is further alleged that during the search, officers recovered a quantity of cash and other items of evidentiary value related to the investigation
52-year-old Alan Haaksma of Oakville was charged with:
- six counts of Robbery With Offensive Weapon
- six counts of Disguise With Intent
He appeared in a Toronto court on Thursday, February 27th.
Members of the investigative team are continuing their investigation and further charges are expected to follow.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7350, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
