An investigation launched more than a year ago has resulted in the dismantling of a crime group involved in stealing vehicles and shipping them overseas, police say.
Members of the Windsor Police Service were joined by members of the Ontario Provincial Police on Thursday to announce that 23 people face 279 charges in the international auto theft investigation that has resulted in the recovery of 138 stolen vehicles worth over $9 million in total.
“Vehicles that have been recovered include everything from high-end vehicles, SUVs driven by working-class families, some of which contained valuable personal items, many of which were stolen directly from people’s driveways,” said project lead Det. Inspector Andy Bradford with the OPP.
Police say the crime group was based in Windsor but “was operating across multiple jurisdictions” and that stolen vehicles were being exported to countries including United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In some cases, vehicles would have their identification numbers modified in a process called “re-vinning” so that they could be sold in Canada, police allege.
The investigation, dubbed Project Fairfield, was launched by Windsor police in April 2022 with OPP coming on in September 2022. The investigation also involved support from Canada Border Services Agency, the London Police Services, Peel Regional Police and crime prevention non-profit Équité Association.
As part of the investigation, on Dec. 8, a re-vinned vehicle was stopped on Highway 401 near Kingston and officers seized drugs including nearly 15,000 synthetic opioid tablets that were pressed in order to look like legitimate oxycodone pills, police allege.
Bryan Gast, VP of investigative services at Équité Association, said the types of vehicles stolen and recovered as part of this investigation echoes trends the association has been seeing in the last few years.
Gast noted that “54 of the 138 vehicles recovered were Dodge Rams and a high percentage were Jeep Cherokees.”
“While owners of the most commonly stolen vehicles makes and models may be feeling concerned, I am here to reassure you. There are several things that can be done to safeguard your vehicle. There are also many ways to protect yourself as a consumer to ensure that the vehicle you are purchasing is not stolen property,” he said, pointing the public to the association’s website.
The 23 suspects are due in court throughout August and September.
The investigation is ongoing, with police saying that they “continue to identify and locate stolen and re-vinned vehicles.”