Ontario woman charged with stealing $43,549 in gold and silver arrested at Canada-U.S. border

The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge border between Canada and the U.S., near where the accused was taken into custody. Photo by Joe Raedle /Getty Images

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A Canadian woman was arrested in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, last month in connection with the theft of a package containing thousands of dollars worth of gold and silver.

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The 25-year-old, from Ontario, was charged with forgery, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception for taking a package containing US$43,549 in gold and silver, according to Bensalem Township Police, before flying to Arizona and eventually making her way to the Canadian border in New York.

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Police had responded to a report of a stolen FedEx package on May 11. The victim had reported that while waiting for a delivery of a package containing gold and silver, a family member observed a woman claim to be the owner, sign for the package, and leave the area. The woman was later identified by police.

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Investigators traced the accused movements using surveillance footage, including intersection cameras and license plate readers. They identified the vehicle involved as a Nissan sedan, and determined that the woman had rented it from Enterprise Rent-A-Car at Philadelphia International Airport on May 10.

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After the alleged theft, the accused returned to the airport and boarded a flight to Arizona the same day, police said.

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Bensalem Township Police issued an arrest warrant charging the Canadian woman with forgery, theft by unlawful taking and theft by deception. They also contacted U.S. Customs and Border Protection to alert the agency of the outstanding warrant, on account of the accused being in the U.S. from Canada on a visa.

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On July 5, she was taken into custody while attempting to cross the border into Canada at Lewiston, New York, police say. She was transported from New York to Bensalem Township Police Headquarters by the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office for arraignment on July 31.

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Bucks County Magisterial District Judge Michael Gallagher arraigned the woman and set bail at 10 per cent of $1 million ($100,000) before remanding her to the Bucks County Correctional Facility.

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The arrest comes after 28-year-old Bryce Haileigh Swanson, also from Canada, was arrested in Florida on July 29 and charged with the fraudulent use of personal information. She gave a false name to deputies who stopped her during a traffic stop in Tampa, and was found to have 12 fake IDs in her trunk.

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As a result of overstaying her visa in the U.S., Swanson is being held on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer at a county jail, according to court records obtained by National Post.

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