Calgary resident Morgan Mulder is demanding answers after he was forced to pay more than $300 to recover his stolen pickup truck from a City of Calgary impound lot. .And he says when he finally got his truck out of the impound lot, the thieves' drugs and drug baggies and other stolen goods were left behind..“I should have just had it towed to my house, and I could have avoided all of this $320 that I can’t afford to get my truck out of the impound lot,” said Mulder in a Monday interview. .“I got screwed when my truck got stolen and then I got screwed by the cops.” .Mulder’s 2002 GMC Sierra was stolen Oct. 1 from his driveway in the community of Temple, in the city's northeast. He said his community is having a bunch of problems over the last few months where thieves are targeting GMC Sierras made in 2002 or older. .His neighbour’s surveillance camera showed it being driven down the road early in the morning. He reported the missing vehicle to Calgary police. .Mulder had a dinner date with his wife on Oct. 15. He went to a bank machine, and as he was pulling out of the drive-thru, he saw his truck sitting in the parking lot. .He called Calgary police, and he was told not to touch the vehicle. Police said officers would tow it to its impound lot to process it. .Mulder called the police impound on Oct. 16, and it did not have any information. He received a phone call from the City of Calgary impound lot on Oct. 19, asking him what he would be doing with his truck. .The City of Calgary said he owed $320 to recover his vehicle. Calgary police had told him it was going to its lot with no charges for him. .When he arrived at the city’s lot, it was obvious police did not process the vehicle for fingerprints or even look inside..Drugs, drug baggies, passport photos, stolen credit and debit cards, and a missing licence plate with insurance and registration papers were on the backseat of the truck and jammed in door handles.. Passport photosFive different people's passport photos .Mulder said he was “very mad, because I was upset that I had to go to the impound to pay anything to get my vehicle out.”.He is a member of the Alberta Motor Association, so he wishes he had it towed for free to his house. .He has been trying to reach the city, and it said it might reimburse the cost. Calgary police said it would not cover the charge. .“They told me not to touch the vehicle that they had to tow to their lot to process,” he said. . Licence plateA stolen licence plate with insurance and registration papers .Calgary police said officers took the vehicle to the city lot because it had significant damage rendering it inoperable. .“Officers did a cursory search of the vehicle and did not find anything of note left in the vehicle,” said Calgary police to the Western Standard. .“Since that time, police have not received any reports of stolen property located in the vehicle.”.It said Mulder did not remain with the recovered vehicle, and it was towed to the city impound lot. Vehicle owners are encouraged to carry theft insurance to cover the potential costs of towing, impound fees, and detailing.
