Crime north of the border is more common than you might think…
Canada used to be viewed as the land of polite people, but it’s got quite the problem with car theft and other crimes lately. One of the more notorious spots for people finding their car is suddenly gone is the Toronto metro area, with vehicles stolen from there often shipped to other parts of the world. Project Repeater, a multi-jurisdictional investigation with police from all over the area, netted $770,000 CAD in boosted cars plus other items.
Learn about the stolen cars returned to Canada from a foreign country here.
Toronto police say they arrested four men, a woman, and a teenage boy, charging them with a whole list of crimes that include car thefts, carjackings, currency exchange heists, and pharmacy robberies. We see this over and over where car thieves don’t just steal cars, they engage in all kinds of illegal activity that includes violence.
The group seemed to favor targeting luxury SUVs, likely because they could fetch a high price in the black market. Those types of vehicles are popular not only in North America but pretty much everywhere else, although Africa and the Middle East seem to be common destinations for shipments of stolen cars from Canada.
“This is alleged to be a very violent group of individuals who ply their trade in many, many areas – carjackings, car thefts, pharmacy robberies and money exchange establishments,” said Holdup Squad Insp. Rich Harris during a news conference.
Not only did authorities find a group of stolen cars when they made they bust, they also recovered about $980,000 CAD in stolen property. Police believe the gang used stolen cars to commit the other crimes, another common tactic.
Harris told journalists the suspects used a variety of techniques to steal cars, from “intentional contact” to “blitzing unsuspecting victims.”
Source: Toronto Sun
