Police break up stolen luxury car ring

Police have arrested four people in connection to an alleged stolen car ring that was shipping luxury vehicles to Africa from Canada.

Property

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Police have arrested four people in connection to an alleged stolen car ring that was shipping luxury vehicles to Africa from Canada.

Canada Border Services Agency and the RCMP began a joint investigation after customs agents discovered vehicles inside shipping containers at the Port of Montreal about one year ago.

Following the arrests, police were able to recover about $1 million worth of stolen property over the course of their year-long investigation. Police allege a sophisticated network was behind a rash of car thefts in Quebec City, Montreal, and extending into Ontario.

The vehicles were believed bound for Africa, particularly Angola, Guinea and Burundi.

Luxury vehicles are a choice target for thieves.

“High-end vehicles and classic cars are extremely valuable assets for their owners. With that, insurance rates can come at a premium,” Jeremy Warnick, the corporate communications manager with LoJack Corp., told Insurance Business. “And, by the same token, these cars are vulnerable to advanced theft techniques from sophisticated thieves.”

The network went to lengths to mask the stolen vehicles by altering their serial numbers and using forged paperwork with the names of real import/export firms, according to an RCMP spokesman. (continued.)
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The last big car ring to have been uncovered by police was back in December of last year, when a joint U.S./Canadian investigation called Project Windows, which included York and Peel regional police, Toronto Police Service, U.S. Homeland Security and Canadian Border Services, recovered 124 high-end vehicles worth $5.4 million in assets.

The four face charges that include conspiracy, trafficking and possession of property obtained by crime, identity theft, car theft, possession of break-in instruments, forgery and uttering forged documents.

In all, 44 stolen vehicles were identified, with 29 of them recovered, mainly at the Port of Montreal – including a stolen boat.

 

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