An Ontario man is facing numerous charges after police found him to be in possession of over a million dollars during a stopover in Winnipeg.
On February 27, 2012, officers of the Winnipeg Police Service were dispatched to the Greyhound Bus Terminal. During a stopover in Winnipeg on the way to Vancouver, BC, a passenger was found to have 1.3 million dollars in cash in his backpack.
The passenger, identified as 50-year-old Erwin Thomas Speckert of Minden, Ontario, was arrested by the responding officers and released without charge pending further investigation. The RCMP D Division Financial Integrity Unit was contacted and a proceeds of crime investigation began.
On February 26, 2013, after a year-long investigation involving several law enforcement agencies, Erwin Thomas Speckert was formally charged with possession of proceeds of crime, trafficking in proceeds of crime, possession for the purpose of trafficking in proceeds of crime, and laundering of proceeds of crime regarding funds alleged to be the proceeds of illegal gaming in the Province of Ontario.
A warrant for his arrest was obtained.
The investigation was a partnership between the RCMP and the Toronto Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Winnipeg Police Service and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
On March 22, 2013, Speckert attended RCMP D Division Headquarters and turned himself in. He has since been released on a recognizance with conditions to appear April 22, 2013, in Winnipeg.
