Ontario police recover over 50 cars worth millions stolen by 'prolific crime group'

Ontario police recently charged a "prolific crime group" with nearly 100 criminal offences after recovering 52 stolen vehicles valued at $3.2 million. 

Between October 2023 and January 2024, the York Regional Police Auto Cargo Theft Unit led an investigation, dubbed "Project Mamba," to uncover a group of criminals using residential areas to store vehicles that had been stolen out of York Region, parts of the GTA, and southwestern Ontario. 

The prolific crime group involved was allegedly targeting high-end vehicles and trafficking them with planned destinations such as Azerbaijan and Georgia. 

In December 2023 and January 2024, six search warrants were executed at locations across Ontario, including in Toronto, Vaughan, London, Cambridge, and Bradford. 

In total, 11 people were charged with 96 criminal offences, including theft of a motor vehicle, traffic in property obtained by crime, possession of property obtained by crime, possession of automobile master key, as well as possession of break-in instruments. 

A 2023 report conducted by the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association (CFLA) revealed that a vehicle is stolen every six minutes in Canada, often by organized crime. 

A vehicle is stolen every six minutes in Canada according to report https://t.co/d2MKGL0BPU #Canada

— blogTO (@blogTO) June 22, 2023

In 2022, the Toronto Police Service reported 9,606 vehicle thefts within the city, approximately 300 per cent higher than the 3,284 thefts reported in 2015. 

"In each of the past seven years, vehicle theft rates in Toronto have become progressively worse," the report reads. The association also noted that car theft presents "an enormous financial and social burden on society," costing Canada a staggering $1 billion annually.