Surrey marine mechanic suspected in rash of thefts

UPDATE: In 2013, Frank Cutajar was given a conditional sentence of 21 months less a day in relation to nine charges. All other outstanding counts were dropped.

He was convicted of possession of stolen property, theft, fraud and unauthorized use of credit card data. Cutajar was also given a probation order for one year and was exempted from having to pay victim surcharges.

Police in Vancouver may have solved part of a mysterious rash of boating equipment thefts totalling $300,000 with old-fashioned detective work, a little surveillance, and a bit of 'catch-and-release.'

Over several months in late 2011, the Lower Mainland's marine community was hit by thefts of small trailer boats and marine and fishing equipment from larger vessels.

In some cases, the thief or thieves targeted outboard motors attached to moored boats or boats parked on trailers in driveways in Vancouver, Delta, Coquitlam, Surrey, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver.

Near the end of January, a special team of investigators from the Vancouver Police Marine Unit, the VPD Auto Crime Enforcement Unit, the North Vancouver RCMP and the West Van Police Property Crime Team identified a Surrey marine mechanic as a potential suspect in a number of the equipment thefts.

Police began watching the suspect, and were then led to a boat, trailer, and outboard motor that had been reported stolen in Delta, B.C., on Jan. 28.

Police arrested 43-year-old Frank Jerry Cutajar, and he was charged with nine counts including theft over $5,000, possession of stolen property, and fraud.

He was then released from custody on bail.

Vancouver police Const. Lindsey Houghton said that soon after Cutajar's arrest, officers located a storage unit in Richmond that contained 10 outboard motors and a generator that Cutajar allegedly sold to an unsuspecting victim.

"This seizure and the discovery of the thefts resulted in investigators obtaining a search warrant for a storage locker where more stolen property was discovered and three more victims identified," Houghton said in a written statement.

More goods recovered

Houghton said that detectives also continued to monitor Cutajar's activities.

On Feb. 26, he allegedly stole an outboard motor and sold it hours later through the online classifieds site Craigslist.

On March 13, Cutajar was again arrested, and was further charged with 40 more counts of criminal offences, which included theft, possession of stolen property, fraud, and uttering a forged document.

A few days later, he was again released on bail, but with the added condition of being barred from any marina or dock in the Lower Mainland.

Houghton said that since the investigation began on Jan. 20, no Vancouver marina has reported similar thefts.

Cutajar has been accused of targeting and stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of marine equipment — but much of the marine-related property that has gone missing over the past few months is still unaccounted for.

Buyer beware

Houghton said that as a result of the current investigation, 18 boat owners have been able to recover their stolen property. Detectives will be working to recover more in the coming weeks.

Det. Phil Ens, with the VPD Auto Crime Enforcement Unit, said police are still trying to determine the scale of the marine equipment thefts.

"One of the problems that we were dealing with, as we were identifying the owners, is that they didn't realise that they were missing their outboard motors or their equipment; due to the fact that they put their boat into storage and they hadn't gone to see it for weeks — and sometimes up to months," Ens said.

Houghton also said that people using online marketplaces such as Craigslist need to watch out for stolen goods.

"If you purchase items online from an unknown source and without doing any due diligence, you may find yourself not only the victim of a crime, but out a significant amount of money, as some of the victims in this case were," he said.

The national Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) online database is one tool that would-be buyers can use to check serial numbers of bicycles and vehicles that are being sold second-hand. 

But Ens advises Canadians looking to buy boat parts online to visit the site stolenboats.ca, as it lists the serial numbers of stolen boats, trailers, and engines.