Chatham-Kent, Ontario, police arrested four people and seized 39.1 grams of purple fentanyl after receiving an automatic license plate reader alert on January 28, 2025, for a vehicle reported stolen from Walpole Island, AM800 reported. An off-duty officer recognized the car at a convenience store in Tilbury and contacted dispatch. Officers followed the car until it turned into a private driveway, then made the arrests.
At a glance
- Agency
- Chatham-Kent Police Service (Ontario, Canada)
- Alert
- Jan. 28, 2025, for a vehicle stolen from Walpole Island
- Spotted by
- An off-duty officer at a convenience store in Tilbury
- Arrested
- Three people from Wallaceburg and one from Windsor
- Seized
- 39.1 grams of purple fentanyl
- Charges
- Possession of property obtained by crime; possession for the purpose of trafficking
How the plate reader helped
This is what the report says about the technology’s role.
- A reader alerted police to the stolen vehicle.
- An off-duty officer then recognized the car and called dispatch.
- Officers coordinated a safe approach and arrested the occupants.
The outcome
- Four people were arrested and held for bail hearings, and police seized the fentanyl found in the vehicle.
In the news
“On January 28, police received an automatic license plate reader (ALPR) alert for a vehicle that was reported as stolen from Walpole Island.”
The excerpt is quoted word for word. The rest of this page paraphrases the same report, so names, dates and figures are the reporter’s or the agency’s, not ours. Where a report does not say something, we do not guess.
Context and caveats
- Charges are allegations. The year is taken from the report’s publication date.
License plate readers are one investigative tool among several. They flag vehicles and give investigators leads; officers, detectives and the public do the rest, and every lead still has to be verified. For how agencies govern the technology, see our policy and data-retention guide and the accuracy guide.
How Intelvi AI fits
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Frequently asked questions
How much fentanyl was seized?
Police seized 39.1 grams of purple fentanyl from the vehicle, according to AM800.
How did the reader help?
An alert on January 28 flagged a stolen vehicle, which an off-duty officer then recognized and reported.