FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, December 11, 2018 1:07pm
(Ottawa) – Following an investigation by the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) Resource Protection Department, the Ottawa Police Service Organized Fraud Unit was informed of suspicious activity involving the use of stolen credit cards to purchase and attempt to purchase multiple orders of cannabis through www.ocs.ca.
On December 10, 2018, two men were arrested and charged by Ottawa Police:
Hassan MOKDAD, 23 years-old, of Ottawa will appear in court on January 23, 2019. He is charged with:
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence x1
- Possess Property Obtained by Crime not exceeding $5000 x7
Ali ZEINEDDINE, 21 years-old, of Ottawa will appear in court on January 24, 2019. He is charged with:
- Conspiracy to commit an indictable offence x1
- Possess Property Obtained by Crime not exceeding $5000 x7
Statement by OCS:
“The Ontario Cannabis Store’s Resource Protection Department detected fraudulent activity related to stolen credit cards being used to attempt to purchase and purchase cannabis. Internal controls prevented the majority of transactions from being successfully completed and triggered the attention of the Resource Protection team. Following a thorough investigation, the OCS team alerted the Ottawa Police Service. OCS is committed to preventing cannabis from being obtained through criminal means and ensuring that youth and the community are protected.”
OCS Internal controls stopped the majority of purchase attempts before the transactions were successfully completed and alerted the fraud protection team to the illegal activity. A small number of attempts were successful.
The Ottawa Police Service Organized Fraud Unit continues to investigate.
Anyone with information is asked to call Ottawa Policeat 613-236-1222, ext. 7300.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by downloading the Ottawa Police app.
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CONTACT:
Media Relations Section
Tel: 613-236-1222, ext. 5366