Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 7, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba WEDNESDAY MAY 7, 2025 ● ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM SECTION B CONNECT WITH WINNIPEG’S NO. 1 NEWS SOURCE ▼ CITY ● BUSINESS Good meat, bad cheques: butchers allege fraud A GROUP of Winnipeg-area butcher shops allege they’ve been bilked out of thousands of dollars by a fraudster who posed as a restaurant owner and paid for large amounts of meat with bad cheques. Police confirmed they’ve launched an investigation into the spree of apparent frauds, which may have targeted up to 10 different stores over the span of sev- eral months. The allegations came to light Tues- day when Frig’s Natural Meats & More issued a news release identifying the suspect and warning other businesses not to deal with him. The Free Press is not naming the accused because he has not been criminally charged. “There’s part of me that is so pissed off at myself for allowing this to hap- pen to us and allowing this guy to come into our store and write a cheque. What was I thinking? But then, I seriously — I trusted him,” said Michelle Mansell, manager of the West St. Paul butcher shop. “As far as I was concerned, he was a guy who was getting his business go- ing… and I wanted to help him.” Mansell said the suspect seemed to be “quite in a panic” when he called her store on April 17 and asked the butcher to fulfil a last-minute order. “He said that he owned two restau- rants and he had some big catering events going on that weekend and his supplier had shorted him, and he really needed to get his hands on some more meat,” she said. The suspect showed up within an hour, carrying a manilla envelope filled with what Mansell believes were forged order sheets and other documents. “It all looked very legitimate… he basically showed me his business num- ber, the orders that he has to fill, what his supplier gave him and what he was shorted. It was all very well thought out,” she said. He left with about $1,700 worth of product — primarily choice cuts of meat like rib-eye and New York steaks. Two days later, the man returned for another order and wrote a second cheque for approximately $1,000. Both cheques later bounced, Mansell said. The amount of product taken from Frig’s was equivalent to about two days worth of sales, she said. Mansell called many of her competi- tors in the meat industry to warn them about what happened. She connected with 10 businesses that suffered simi- lar losses, but none had filed police re- ports, she said. “I died a little inside with every per- son telling me they already knew,” she said. “It was heartbreaking, to be hon- est. It kind of squashes your faith in humanity.” She compiled information from other affected butchers and urged them to file police reports before she did so her- self. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Melanie Roussel confirmed officers from the Red River North detachment received her complaint on April 22 and launched an investigation. While no other reports have been received within the Mounties’ jurisdic- tion, investigators believe “there may be multiple businesses within the city that were affected,” Roussel said in an email statement. The Winnipeg Police Service said it is investigating similar fraud reports from at least three other meat suppli- ers, including Pratts Wholesale Ltd., Central Products & Foods Ltd. and C & G Meat Depot. Other businesses may be linked to the investigation, but police cannot provide further information while that process is ongoing, spokesperson Ally Cox said via email. Christine Glover, who works for C & G, said the company lost about $730 worth of product on Feb. 14 after re- ceiving a bad cheque. Glover recognized the suspect as a client who had previously ordered meat from the business and paid without issue. Multiple attempts to reach the man went unanswered, she said. Rob Bayles, manager at European Meats, said he avoided being duped by a scammer who showed up at the Bur- rows Avenue store on March 21 and or- dered about $955 worth of meat. TYLER SEARLE T HE Winnipeg Jets aren’t the only ones who are win- ning amid the NHL club’s extended playoff run, which is set to continue with another home whiteout tonight. It’s been a boon to certain busi- nesses — bars and restaurants, in particular — while flooding down- town with thousands of hockey fans, boosting energy and morale and showcasing the city to audienc- es around the world. “Any time they are winning, there’s more confidence and pride in the city,” said Dwight Benson, general manager of the Elephant & Castle Pub and Restaurant at 340 St. Mary Ave., a block south of Canada Life Centre. “We’ve been full with a lineup outside (on game days), so it’s great for busi- ness. We’re just excited to see a long playoff run.” Businesses and fans are gearing up for Game 1 of the Jets’ second-round clash with the Dallas Stars, after Sun- day’s thrilling Game 7, double-over- time win to end the St. Louis Blues’ season. Winnipeg will host the first two games — tonight and Friday, both starting at 8:30 p.m. — and, if neces- sary, games 5 and 7. The Jets are in the second round for the first time since 2021. Each home game will see more than 15,000 fans fill the downtown arena, and 5,000 more will cram into White- out parties on Donald Street. Others will watch on screens inside bars or restaurants such as the Ele- phant & Castle, which has additional staff working on game days. The pub extends its hours when the games have later-than-usual start times. Jets-themed decorations have been put up inside. Shot specials are de- livered on a miniature hockey stick. Slogans, including “Go Jets Go,” and caricatures of Jets players are paint- ed on patio windows outside. They are among dozens of commer- cial windows painted by artist Rick Eastland since the playoffs began. The Jets’ Game 7 win brought an uptick in customers Sunday. On Tues- day, he painted windows from about 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. before heading to his usual job as a courier. After his shift, he expected to re- sume painting until 10 p.m. The Jets’ run is morphing into a unifying ex- perience for the city, he said. “The excitement is building,” East- land said. “It’s transitioning into something the community rallies around.” At Devil May Care Brewing Co., business has been brisk during home and away game watch parties. The brewery and taproom, at 155-A Fort St., had to ramp up beer production due to increased sales. “We’re brewing faster than we nor- mally would right now,” co-owner Colin Koop said. The taproom is bringing in food trucks for the upcoming home games. Koop said Winnipeggers can some- times “get down” on the city as a whole, so he’s pleased to see people so enthusiastic. Businesses thrilled as Jets’ success brings cash, enthusiasm to embattled downtown CHRIS KITCHING RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS ‘We’re excited to see a long playoff run,’ Elephant & Castle’s Dwight Benson says, standing in the outdoor patio decorated to promote the Jets during their Whiteout street parties. HE SHOOTS, they score! ● MEAT, CONTINUED ON B2 BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS FILES Success is their destiny: downtown shops and services are humming as the Whiteout brings hordes of fans, even one from a galaxy far, far away. ● JETS, CONTINUED ON B2 ● DRUGS, CONTINUED ON B2 Cops smoke out meth, coke ring, court hears A WINNIPEG couple vowed to “turn over a new leaf” after being arrested for allegedly selling contraband ciga- rettes and marijuana from a string of inner-city convenience stores they operated, only to be taken back into custody accused of heading a high-level cocaine and methamphetamine traf- ficking network, a court has heard. Forty-two-year-old Harpreet Mangat was denied bail Monday. “She is making the same promises to this court that she made before and then breached every day that she was being watched by police,” said provin- cial court Judge Kusham Sharma. “I have no confidence that any conditions the court places on her will prevent her from breaching and becoming re- involved.” Mangat, her husband Ravindeer Singh Aulakh, and four co-accused were arrested last month following an interprovincial drug investigation that netted the seizure of 10 kilograms of meth and two kilograms of cocaine. Mangat and Aulakh, 46, owned 16 properties, including several conven- ience stores, when in 2023 they became the target of Canada Revenue Agency investigators. They were suspicious the couple’s declared income did not match their financial means, evidenced by Mangat’s purchase of several proper- ties years earlier for $1 million in cash. The couple was arrested in January 2024 after search warrants executed at their home and several business prop- erties resulted in the seizure of large amounts of contraband cigarettes, ma- rijuana and cash. The following month, “the couple con- vinced the Crown that they were going to turn over a new leaf. They were go- ing to divest themselves of their prop- erties in Winnipeg and move to Surrey, B.C.,” Sharma said. Crown prosecutors agreed to vary the couple’s bail on condition they live in British Columbia and not attend any of the Winnipeg properties where il- legal cigarettes were sold. Police continued to investigate Aulakh and a now-charged co-accused, Landon Murray, and obtained approval for wiretap surveillance they expected would uncover additional evidence of illegal cigarette sales. “But what they found instead was a number of conversations that indicated Mr. Murray was running what appears to be a high-level drug operation with Mr. Aulakh as the ‘boss,’” Sharma said. In November and December, police intercepted calls between Murray, his girlfriend and other “accused associ- ates” in which they discussed plans to meet “the boss’s wife” at one of the con- venience stores to hand over drug traf- ficking proceeds. DEAN PRITCHARD ;