Six people are facing more than 60 charges following a probe into the theft and trafficking of stolen vehicles in Toronto. Last August, Toronto police launched an investigation and on Sept. 13, the Canada Border Services Agency intercepted and examined a shipping container facility that contained six “chopped-up” vehicles, said Insp.
Joseph Matys, of the Hold-Up Squad. Toronto Police Service (TPS), after liaising with border services, determined that those vehicles were stolen from Toronto, and York, Peel and Halton regions. Matys said after several months of further investigation, police executed six search warrants at a Toronto auto body shop on Jan.
24, which resulted in the arrest of five people and the recovery of eight “high-end” vehicles, including Mercedes-Benz, Land Rovers, and Jaguars. Police said those vehicles that had been stolen in Toronto, Halton, Durham, and Ottawa. A sixth suspect was later arrested, Matys noted.
0 of 13 Police say during those raids, officers also recovered a replica handgun, ammunition, and a GPS jammer as well as other items of “evidentiary value” linked to the investigation. Photos provided by police of those vehicles show them in various states of disassembly. Matys said the vehicles were chopped up to make them easier to ship and also to “avoid detection.
” “These vehicles, we believe, were destined for export. If they were to be destined for Canada, we have certain rules and regulations regarding certification,” he s.
