A former United Postal Service (UPS) worker is facing charges after reportedly taking and reselling $1.3 million worth of Apple products from a Winnipeg warehouse.
Court papers reveal that between July 2023 and January 2024, 30-year-old Orville Martirez Beltrano supposedly took about 866 Apple products, worth $1.3 million, from a UPS warehouse on King Edward Street, where he worked as a local sorting supervisor until his employment with UPS was ended in January.
Beltrano allegedly then sold the products on Kijiji, accepting payments in cash or e-transfers.
The court documents show between September and January, Beltrano made cash deposits totaling more than $232,000 into his bank accounts.
On Jan. 22, Beltrano was arrested by Winnipeg police and charged with theft over $5,000, theft under $5,000, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000, and possession of the proceeds of crime.
On Jan. 23, officers executed a search warrant of his south Winnipeg home and his vehicle, where they found $9,000 in cash that was bundled in a Nike bag in his vehicle, a Mac laptop, and jewelry valued at more than $9,100. The document indicated that in a videotaped interview with police, Beltrano admitted to stealing Apple products from the warehouse as well as the jewelry.
He also admitted that the cash seized from his vehicle was derived from the sales of the stolen Apple products.
The statement of claim also said Beltrano used the money from selling the stolen items to purchase a home in Winnipeg’s South Pointe neighbourhood in January for $630,000, and to pay off the debt of a white Audi hatchback that was purchased in 2021 for $60,000.
The court application is seeking a judge’s approval to allow officials to seize Beltrano’s house, Audi, $9,000 in cash, and bank accounts.
