A man and a woman in their 20s have been arrested after five women in their 70s and 80s were robbed of their purses in the past couple of weeks. 

Between July and August 2022, the Winnipeg Police Service’s Major Crimes Unit, with the assistance of General Patrol and the Tactical Support Team, entered into an investigation regarding five elderly females violently robbed of their purses. With the use of CCTV surveillance, investigators identified two suspects, a male and a female, who were committing these crimes.  
 
The earliest incident reported happened on July 17, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. A woman in her seventies was robbed of her purse in the Casino parking lot on Regent Avenue. She was dragged to the ground by an adult male and received minor injuries. The suspect fled.
 
Two days later in the early morning hours, the victim’s stolen credit card was used at a convenience store and a fast food restaurant on Portage Avenue.
 
Roughly two weeks later, on August 1, 2022, at around 6:00 p.m., a woman in her seventies was robbed by two males while she was in the parking lot of a grocery store in the 3900 block of Grant Avenue. Her purse and contents were stolen, and the suspects fled.
 
Her credit card was subsequently used to purchase gas, liquor, cannabis and convenience store purchases in the 6600 block of Grant Avenue.
 
Then robberies took place three days in a row. On August 6, 2022, at approximately 11:30 a.m., a victim in her eighties was robbed of her purse outside a pharmacy on Portage Avenue. She was not injured, and the suspect fled.
 
On August 7, 2022, at approximately 3:30 p.m., a victim in her seventies was robbed of her purse in the parking lot of a grocery store on Grant Avenue. She was not injured, and the suspect fled.
 
On August 8, 2022, at approximately 2:30 p.m., a victim in her seventies was robbed of her purse in the parking lot of a grocery store also on Grant Avenue. She was not injured, and the suspect fled.
 
These robberies were captured on CCTV surveillance, and the suspects were identified.
 
On Sunday, August 14, 2022, the two suspects were located at a park in Headingley and taken into custody. A subsequent search warrant at a storage facility was executed.
 
As a result of this investigation, the following items were seized:
 
- a .22 calibre rifle
- approximately 1.50 grams of fentanyl (estimated street value of $200)
- approximately 11 grams of cocaine (estimated street value of $1,000)
- approximately 3 grams of heroin (estimated street value of $1,500)
 
A 25-year-old woman from Winnipeg, Kudakwashe Hambira, was charged with the following 12 offences:
 
- Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
- Robbery x 3
- Fraud Use of Credit Card x 4
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 4
 
A 23-year-old man from Winnipeg, Kidega Sabil, was charged with the following 21 offences:
 
- Unauthorized Possession of a Firearm
- Robbery x 5
- Fraud Use of Credit Card x 6
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 6
- Possession Scheduled Substance for Purpose of Trafficking -  Methamphetamine
- Possession Scheduled Substance for Purpose of Trafficking -  Cocaine
- Possession Scheduled Substance for Purpose of Trafficking -  Heroine
 
Both were detained in custody.