Canadian police put brakes on car theft ring

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian police arrested 51 people in a car theft ring and recovered 215 vehicles worth an estimated CAN$17 million ($12.5 million) plus several guns in "Project Touchdown," authorities announced Wednesday.

More than 150 charges were brought by York Regional Police (YRP) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“This project focused on organized criminal groups responsible for the increasing number of car theft across the Greater Toronto Area,” YRP Police Chief Jim Macsween told reporters.

Police also seized 15 handguns, an assault rifle, ammunition and one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cocaine.

Vehicle theft is burgeoning in the Toronto area as "multiple groups" operate province-wide and internationally from their base in the GTA have been stealing and trafficking vehicles.

Many end up in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, said police.

The thieves are adept at reprogramming key fobs. The practice is called "relay theft."

"Wireless key fobs can be very easily managed," said Macsween​​​​​​​.

The same people also deal in illegal guns and drugs. Shootings are increasingly common in the Toronto area and of the 16 weapons seized, most were smuggled in from the US where gun laws in many states are laxer than in Canada.

“They’re being smuggled in because people that want to possess them do not register firearms. They are criminal, the criminal entity of the city, mainly gangs, but there are illegal firearms that are much easier to acquire from the United States,” Inspector Joe Matthews, who heads up Toronto police’s guns and gangs unit, told City News in April 2021.

Between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2021, a total of 692 guns were seized by officers at the Canadian border, according to the Canadian Border Service.

In 2020, approximately 85% of all handguns seized by Toronto police were traced to the US.