Police allege mail carrier stockpiled letters in home

Police allege Winnipeg mail carrier stockpiled letters in her home

WINNIPEG (CP) - Police allege a mail carrier stockpiled thousands of letters, packages and flyers in her house last winter instead of delivering them to homes and businesses.

After receiving a tip from Canada Post, Winnipeg police searched the 33-year-old woman's home and were surprised to find a truckload of undelivered mail in the garage.

"There were close to 60 Canada Post mail delivery bags . . . that were empty and just as numerous large garbage bags filled with mail," Const. Jacqueline Chaput said Tuesday.

"There were also boxes of flyers beside the bags."

The unidentified woman faces charges of stealing mail between last October and February of this year.

Canada Post said the woman was fired in February.

The agency was unable to say how much mail went undelivered and how many customers in Winnipeg's River East neighbourhood were affected.

Canada Post stressed, however, that mail theft by carriers is uncommon.

"It is a rare occurrence. It happens from time to time across Canada," spokeswoman Teresa Williams said.

A 26-year-old mail carrier in the Ontario community of Huntsville was charged with theft in March after police discovered thousands of catalogues, letters and Christmas cards inside a jeep.

Two letter carriers in Montreal were fired last year after Canada Post found that 75,000 letters and packages had been stolen over five years.

Mail theft is a criminal offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The stolen mail in Winnipeg was unopened and appeared intact. It will be delivered once police release it as evidence, Williams said.