ALERT busts international auto theft ring with ties to Alberta

EDMONTON – An international auto theft network with links to organized crime has been busted following a lengthy investigation spearheaded by Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), RCMP, and the Alberta government.

Investigators believe that high-end trucks, SUVs, and luxury sedans were being stolen in Quebec and assigned counterfeit vehicle identification numbers (VIN). They allege the vehicles were then registered in Alberta and other provinces using federally numbered corporations at various local registries.

According to ALERT, the vehicles would later be re-registered in Quebec and sold at steep discounts through a network of friends and associates.

The vehicles were cloned so well that patrol officers wouldn’t notice the VINs or certification labels were fake. A registry agency in Quebec noticed some peculiar registrations on Alberta and Quebec vehicles which started the crackdown.

Seven of the vehicles were traced to Ghana, Africa and two more were intercepted en route to Costa Rica.

Of the more than 100 vehicles that are suspected to have been stolen, ALERT has recovered 53 in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray, and Quebec.

The value of the recovered vehicles is estimated to be more than $3 million.

Several Alberta and Quebec suspects have been identified and investigators are in the process of recommending charges.

As for those who have purchased one of the crime ring’s stolen vehicles, ALERT believes the majority know why they got such a good deal on their ride. If caught, they can be charged with possession of stolen property.

“It comes back to the old saying if it’s too good to be true it is,” said ALERT Det. Stewart Kirtio. “There’s a number of people in Alberta we’ve identified that have purchased these vehicles.”

The investigation is still ongoing and has sparked additional investigations across the country.