Upon leaving her local grocery store, Emmanuella Anye of Calgary was shocked to find someone had swapped her vehicle's licence plate — with one from a stolen vehicle. It is reportedly another episode in a series of similar crimes. “I heard the day before that someone here had their licence plate stolen, so I checked mine,” she said, per Global News, “I didn’t think it would be that serious, but it was stolen, it was swapped, actually, not stolen."“Just very caught by surprise.”Anye reported it to Calgary Police Service (CPS), where officers told her they were wise to the plate-swap tactic. “They [said] yeah, it was a swap,” and “then they immediately ran the plate,” finding it was from a stolen vehicle. Dominic Schamuhn of the Alberta Motor Association warned the plate swap could have serious consequences. “The challenge for our partners in law enforcement is if they see a plate that’s been reported stolen, they have to think that the vehicle itself is probably stolen,” he told Global. “And so it opens up a whole host of challenges, not just for law enforcement, but for Albertans and motorists.”“It creates an environment for Albertans that isn’t welcome. If your plate has been stolen and you’re driving around and you get pulled over, that’s not an experience that anybody wants to have.”
Upon leaving her local grocery store, Emmanuella Anye of Calgary was shocked to find someone had swapped her vehicle's licence plate — with one from a stolen vehicle. It is reportedly another episode in a series of similar crimes. “I heard the day before that someone here had their licence plate stolen, so I checked mine,” she said, per Global News, “I didn’t think it would be that serious, but it was stolen, it was swapped, actually, not stolen."“Just very caught by surprise.”Anye reported it to Calgary Police Service (CPS), where officers told her they were wise to the plate-swap tactic. “They [said] yeah, it was a swap,” and “then they immediately ran the plate,” finding it was from a stolen vehicle. Dominic Schamuhn of the Alberta Motor Association warned the plate swap could have serious consequences. “The challenge for our partners in law enforcement is if they see a plate that’s been reported stolen, they have to think that the vehicle itself is probably stolen,” he told Global. “And so it opens up a whole host of challenges, not just for law enforcement, but for Albertans and motorists.”“It creates an environment for Albertans that isn’t welcome. If your plate has been stolen and you’re driving around and you get pulled over, that’s not an experience that anybody wants to have.”
