Arrest made in theft of Hurricane Melissa relief supplies in Mississauga

Peel police have arrested Varinder Dhillon, 40, in connection with the theft of a shipping container filled with thousands of dollars' worth of aid for Jamaica.

Peel police have made an arrest in the theft of Hurricane Melissa relief supplies destined for Jamaica.

Police said the theft happened at a storage facility near Derry Road East and Goreway Drive on Dec. 3, 2025, at 5:10 a.m.

After breaking into the facility, a suspect allegedly used a transport truck to attach a trailer with a shipping container and fled.

Police said the container had thousands of dollars’ worth of clothing and non-perishable items that were supposed to be shipped to Jamaica to help residents recover from the deadly Category 5 storm.

Heartbroken volunteers previously told CTV News Toronto that they had been collecting donations for three weeks and were ready to send them.

Police launched an investigation and soon after, identified a suspect. On March 11, investigators executed a search warrant at a home in Brampton and arrested 40-year-old Varinder Dhillon.

Police said Varinder is on probation for similar offences and is prohibited from driving indefinitely.

Investigators also recovered more than $1 million of stolen property, including the relief supplies, which police said had been shipped and distributed to residents in Jamaica.

Varinder has been charged with break and enter and commit an indictable offence, failure to comply with a release order, two counts of theft over $5,000, two counts of operation while prohibited, three counts of breach of probation order and three counts of possession of property obtained by crime.