Latest news with #ProjectOpal
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Barrie robbery linked to crime ring believed to be behind series of bank heists
Police investigate an armed robbery at the Ontario Educational Credit Union Ltd. on Alliance Boulevard in Barrie, Ont., on Nov. 9, 2023. A major multi-jurisdictional police investigation into a string of armed bank robberies across southern Ontario, including one that happened in Barrie, has resulted in five arrests. The case, dubbed Project Opal, brought together several police services, including Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), after a rash of eight robberies took place between December 2022 and March 2024. Police say each robbery followed a similar pattern with two or three masked suspects entering the bank shortly before closing time, and at least one carried a handgun. Investigators believe the same group is responsible for more than $2 million in combined losses across all eight banks. The stolen funds have not been recovered. In several of the later robberies, police say bank employees were tied up, including a robbery at the Ontario Educational Credit Union Ltd. on Alliance Boulevard in Barrie in November 2023. At that time, Barrie police said two men with their faces covered burst into the credit union armed with guns and demanded money. Two employees had been bound while the suspects made off with a 'large amount of Canadian currency.' Between June and September 2025, police say four suspects were arrested in connection with several robberies. On Friday, the OPP charged a 33-year-old man from Coburg with two counts of robbery with a restricted or prohibited weapon in relation to robberies in Barrie and Newmarket. He is currently in police custody with a court appearance scheduled for July 8 in Oshawa. Police say another suspect, a 33-year-old man from Ajax, remains on the run. They encourage anyone with information on his whereabouts not to approach him, 'instead contact police immediately.' The investigation remains ongoing.
Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
More charges after $2M in bank robberies, suspect outstanding: OPP
Akeem Williams, 33, of Ajax. Photo by HANDOUT / OPP A fifth suspect has been arrested in connection with in a string of bank robberies across the province and the Greater Toronto Area that has seen more than $2 million in cash stolen. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Ontario Provincial Police say the eight heists happened between Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, and Saturday, March 16, 2024, in jurisdictions policed by OPP, Barrie Police, Belleville Police, Durham Regional Police, Niagara Regional Police and York Regional Police. While each police service initially investigated their respective incidents, the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch assumed a coordinating role in August 2023 after investigators identified 'consistent patterns suggesting the involvement of a single group of suspects,' the OPP said in a news release issued on Friday. Investigators involved in what has been dubbed Project Opal said that in each robbery, two or three individuals entered the bank shortly before closing. The bandits wore different disguises during each incident and brandished at least one handgun. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the last six robberies, police said bank employees were bound. Read More Investigators believe the group has been responsible for more than $2 million in reported losses in eight heists. The stolen funds have not yet been recovered. 'Project Opal required extensive coordination across multiple police services to identify and apprehend the suspects before they could target another bank,' OPP Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns said. 'Through their tireless work, they were able to ensure no other victim had to endure the fear and trauma of such an ordeal.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. One year ago, June 21, three suspects were arrested during an attempted robbery in Field, Ont., by the OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit and the OPP Aviation Unit, with help from West Nipissing OPP's Crime Unit and the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch. A fourth suspect was arrested in Vaughan on Sept. 25, 2024. RECOMMENDED VIDEO On Friday, the OPP said a fifth suspect has now been arrested in relation to robberies in Barrie and Newmarket. Roderick Newman, 33, of Cobourg, is charged with two counts of robbery with a restricted or prohibited weapon. An additional suspect, Akeem Williams, 33, of Ajax, is still sought by cops. Anyone with information is asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or at Canada Music Crime Toronto Raptors Toronto Raptors
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Space Florida: Project Beep mystery aerospace company wants to hire 1,000 on Merritt Island
An undisclosed aerospace company wants to invest $247 million establishing a major development near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, creating about 1,000 jobs "at industry average wages," a Space Florida memo shows. This mystery company is identified as the secretive Project Beep in Space Florida agenda materials, and only scant details have been publicly released. Project Beep would establish aerospace manufacturing, research and development, warehousing and administrative facilities on 25 acres at the multi-tenant Exploration Park on northern Merritt Island. Managed in partnership between NASA and Space Florida, Exploration Park is the home of Blue Origin's sprawling New Glenn rocket manufacturing complex. The newly expanded Airbus U.S. Space & Defense satellite factory is also here, along with the 104,000-square-foot Space Life Sciences Lab. NASA: Florida Sen. Moody: Move NASA's headquarters from Washington, D.C., to the Space Coast Project Beep would involve a 30-year land lease with Space Florida. The authority's board of directors will discuss the large-scale economic development proposal during a 1 p.m. teleconference on May 28. In scale of magnitude, Brevard County's fast-growing aerospace-aviation sector nearly doubled in employment from 2017 (7,847 workers) to 2023 (14,828 workers), Economic Development Commission of Florida' Space Coast records show. Project Beep stands to add about 1,000 employees to that sum. Space Florida board members will vote on whether to complete Project Beep negotiations and enter the Exploration Park property lease. "Project intends to organically fund construction and will be responsible for all repairs, and operations and maintenance expenses. Note all improvements made to the premises will become the property of Space Florida and leased back to the Company under the sublease," the memo said. Also on the Space Florida agenda: Project Opal, a potential $1 billion aerospace complex slated for construction near Crestview in Okaloosa County in Florida's Panhandle, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported. Project Opal is slated to evolve into a 1-million-square-foot advanced manufacturing complex during three building phases in the 2035-2036 timeframe on 135 acres at the Shoal River Ranch Gigasite, according to an Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners application score sheet. The undisclosed company will ramp up hiring starting later this year, reaching 336 workers at average wages of $69,434. "The company is a long-standing leader in the support, development and production of aerospace systems and has been at the forefront of the aviation industry for decades," the score sheet said. For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter. Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@ Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Mystery aerospace firm Project Beep wants to hire 1,000 on Space Coast
