Suspected car theft ring dismantled in Montreal, 21 vehicles recovered: police

Montreal police (SPVM) officers have broken up a suspected car theft ring in Montreal in a massive operation that recovered 21 stolen vehicles.

The SPVM says six were found at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport, destined for sale abroad.

Officers ended up arresting nine people suspected of committing the crimes.

Soon, Montreal police will have a bit more help dealing with this type of investigation, thanks to new money from the federal government. An investment of $15 million will be distributed among all the country’s police forces.

“It will help us finance the police officers who are dedicated to the ports when we are recovering those cars,” Montreal Police chief Fady Dagher said.

Canada has been dealing with a dramatic increase in car thefts. According to SPVM data, 11,831 vehicles were reported stolen in 2023 in Montreal.

A May 2023 report on auto theft from The Canadian Finance and Leasing Association says that a vehicle is stolen every six minutes in Canada.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says she wants part of the money to be invested in prevention.

As for the announcement, there were no details on how the money will be distributed.

Two weeks ago, another $28 million investment was announced to help border agents better detect and search shipping containers for stolen vehicles.

— With files from Global’s Touria Izri and Alex Boutilier

1:55 Feds move to ban auto theft tech device ‘Flipper Zero’

• Feds move to ban auto theft tech device ‘Flipper Zero’
• Feds open to stiffer penalties, Minister LeBlanc says on repeated car thefts
• The West Block: Feb. 11, 2024 | Auto theft summit and Canadian diplomacy in a high-stakes U.S. election year
• Auto thefts: Trudeau suggests solutions for increasing issue as national summit kicks off
• Car theft leads to unintentional kidnapping in Montreal: police

Previous Video

Next Video