At the recent 2022 Canadian Jewellers Association Annual General Meeting on October 24, Jewellers Vigilance Canada (JVC) awarded the Peel Regional Police Robbery Unit with the JVC-Jewelers Mutual Group Law Enforcement Award of Merit.

The JVC-Jewelers Mutual Group Law Enforcement Award of Merit is awarded to a police service that has gone above and beyond the call of duty in conducting exceptional investigations and dedication to duty related to jewellery industry crime. Peel Regional Police did just that in their investigation into the 2020 robbery of a Mississauga jewellery store.

This November 2020 robbery was particularly heinous and violent. A jeweller was shot with a gun by one of the robbers before the robbers made off with approximately $1.5 million in jewellery. The robbers disguised themselves as older individuals which were later determined to be rubber masks that were worn.

Peel Regional Police Robbery Unit conducted an extensive and thorough criminal investigation and was able to determine the identity of one of the suspects as Olakunle Banjoko, a 30-year-old male from Toronto.

Banjoko has been charged with attempted murder, robbery with a firearm, disguise with intent, and two counts of failing to comply with a weapons prohibition order. He was convicted in December 2021 of his involvement in this crime and received a 10-year prison sentence. The other suspect remains at large, and police continue to investigate.

Jewellers Vigilance Canada, along with the Canadian Jewellers Association and the jewellery community thank Peel Regional Police Robbery Unit for their exceptional work in this investigation, their dedication to service, and for bringing this criminal to justice.