The crackdown on auto theft across Ontario and Québec continues. On Wednesday, April 3, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Sûreté du Québec, and anti-insurance fraud organization Équité Association announced they have recovered 598 stolen vehicles before they were illegally exported as part of Project Vector.
The CBSA regularly works with the Sûreté du Québec, SPVM, Équité Association to search sea containers suspected of containing stolen vehicles destined for overseas use. Approximately 75 per cent of vehicles recovered from sea containers in Montréal are identified as stolen in Ontario.
PATT and CBSA collaborated with the SQ, SPVM and Équité Association to assist with vehicle recovery, while reducing the number of vehicles stolen in Ontario and illegally exported through the ports of entry. This initiative was supported by PATT’s joint forces operation partners, including police services in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
The April 3 announcement follows an announcement on March 22 in Hawkesbury that the OPP and SPVM had arrested 34 car theft suspects living in or around Montréal in connection with car thefts in Ontario.
Since December 2023, Project Vector has resulted in:
· 390 shipping containers inspected
· 598 vehicles recovered, including 483 from Ontario and 115 from Québec
The 598 recovered vehicles identified as stolen in Ontario have a potential value of approximately $34.5 million.
The recovered vehicles have been connected to various types of vehicle crimes, including carjackings and home invasions.
Investigations into these stolen vehicles remain ongoing. Police services of jurisdiction are responsible for continuing their investigations surrounding these recovered vehicles, as well as any ensuing arrests.
Anyone with any information about auto theft is urged to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
