20 Arrested, 306 Stolen Vehicles Worth $25M Recovered in Ontario

Ontario Provincial Police and the Canada Border Services Agency announced the arrests of 20 individuals and the recovery of 306 stolen vehicles valued at approximately 25 million Canadian dollars as part of a major operation targeting an organized auto theft ring with international connections. The announcement came on Wednesday following an investigation that began in August 2023 in the Greater Toronto Area.

The effort, code-named Project Chickadee, was led by the Ontario Provincial Police's Provincial Auto Theft and Towing Team in collaboration with the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, local police forces, the Sûreté du Québec, and Équité Association, Canada's non-profit organization dedicated to combating vehicle crime. It started after officers recovered four stolen vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area, which revealed evidence of involvement by freight-forwarding companies and drivers. Authorities determined that the group used registered businesses and fraudulent documentation to ship the vehicles overseas, primarily to countries in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon, as well as...