Canadian Authorities Recover 306 Stolen Vehicles Worth $25M From Large-Scale Transnational Auto-Theft Ring
A multi-agency, multi-year investigation dubbed “Project Chickadee” has resulted in the recovery of 306 stolen luxury vehicles valued at $25 million. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) also reported that the investigation led to 20 arrests and 134 charges in total.
The investigation and arrests targeted a transnational organized crime ring. The sophisticated vehicle-theft network has allegedly been illegally exporting vehicles overseas using freight forwarding companies.
The 306 stolen luxury vehicles that were seized in the operation were going to be shipped to the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and several West African countries. Ontario Provincial Police Det. Insp. Scott Wade said the thieves chose those destinations because “the demand for high-end SUVs and luxury vehicles is high” in those countries. The stolen vehicles can be sold in these countries for “double their Canadian value.”
Wade said the investigation began in August 2023 when the Provincial Auto Theft and Towing Team recovered four stolen vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area. It was then that the police discovered a “sophisticated criminal network” involving freight forwarding companies.
According to a report by Insauga.com, police tracked the stolen cars. Subsequently, they located them inside shipping containers, both “in transit” and at ports in Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax. They were then able to intercept the stolen vehicles before they could leave Canada.
‘The investigation is far from over,’ say police
The Ontario Provincial Police reported the arrest of 20 people on 134 charges. Those charges include participation in a criminal organization, money laundering, fraud, and various theft-related offenses.
In addition to the 306 stolen luxury vehicles recovered, police seized firearms, licence plates, tractor-trailer cabs, and forklifts. More than $190,000 CAD and $32,000 USD, along with cellphones, laptops, and hard drives, were also confiscated.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said car thefts cost Canadians more than $1 billion in insurance claims annually. “That’s why law enforcement must remain relentless in our efforts to combat this crime and protect our communities from the criminal networks perpetrating these costly and often dangerous crimes,” he said.
