Montreal woman facing charges for wallet thefts in Belleville

By Jennifer Bowman

A woman in the Montreal area is facing charges for a string of wallet thefts in Belleville  and Oshawa.

Belleville police received 14 complaints of wallet thefts in a week and a half at the end of March and beginning of April. The scam was always the same, the woman distracted shoppers by asking them for help, then picked their purses. Shortly after the thefts, some victims’ credit or debit cards were compromised.

The 40-year-old woman, of no fixed address, was arrested in Laval, Quebec, on Monday. Police are continuing to investigate similar incidents in Trenton, Port Hope, Cobourg and Waterloo.