Police in Toronto are searching for a man officers claim removed an ankle monitoring device after he was arrested in a carjacking investigation.
Toronto police said 20-year-old Sameer Ejaz was wanted after his initial arrest for an alleged carjacking on June 26 in the Islington Avenue and Millwick Drive area.
According to police, the man used his car to cut-off a motorcycle before pointing a gun at its rider and demanding their bike.
Officers say he then took the bike and drove off “in tandem” with the car that had been used to cut-off the rider.
Ejaz’s alleged removal of his monitoring device was mentioned at a press conference Toronto police held after a summer of carjackings in the city.
Insp. Rich Harris told reporters on Tuesday that a total of 182 carjackings have been reported in the city this year to date. By contrast, in 2021, a total of 102 carjackings were reported to police.
Harris said the Toronto police Hold Up squad has taken carriage of 136 of the investigations. A total of 56 vehicles have been recovered.
“In previous years we haven’t seen these numbers at all,” he said.
Ejaz was charged with multiple offences in June, including robbery with a firearm and occupying a vehicle with a firearm.
— with files from Global News’ Hannah Jackson