Langley, B.C. auto dealer suffers ‘gut-wrenching’ theft of cars, keys

The owner of an auto dealership in Langley, B.C. is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the return of his property after a “gut-wrenching” theft on Sunday.

Bicky Dhadwal, owner of TMT Auto Finance, said three suspects stole seven cars and the keys to his entire inventory of roughly 300 vehicles sometime between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

“It’s gut-wrenching,” he told Global News. “We are here at the dealership more than we’re at home so when somebody comes into your private space, it’s very disturbing.”

Security footage captured the theft on video. Dhadwal said the suspects are masked and hooded, but he believes there were two men and a woman.

He said RCMP have already located four of the vehicles and the key vault. The vehicles are currently being swept for fingerprints, but the key vault was practically empty.

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He estimates the theft will cost his shop between $600,000 and $700,000, including the lost vehicles and the cost of re-keying his inventory.

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“Because of COVID, getting keys is very, very challenging,” Dhadwal explained. “Some units, we’re looking at three to four months to get keys before we can even move a unit, so very, very challenging, very sad news to start the year.”

Some of the vehicles that now have no car keys have been sold already, he added, so customers can’t pick up their new purchases.

He said the community has sent hundreds of supportive messages in the aftermath of the crime.

Jules Bienvenue, lot manager at TMT Auto Finance, said the entire situation is “quite upsetting” and it’s his job to tally precisely what’s missing.

He has spares for some of the stock, but doesn’t think there are many left for the luxury vehicles and those are the most expensive to replace, he said.

“It seemed like they knew where to go get these keys,” Bienvenue explained. “(The suspects) went from department to department knowing where certain keys were.”

TMT Auto Finance can be reached at 1-888-461-6459 and the Langley RCMP detachment can be reached at 604-532-3200.