Following a joint operation between numerous police forces and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), about 600 stolen vehicles have been recovered in Montreal.
This was revealed by Representatives with the CBSA, as well as Ontario and Quebec police forces in Montreal.
The operation, dubbed Project Vector, led to the recovery of 598 stolen vehicles since December, many of them stolen from southern Ontario and slated for sale overseas.
The deputy commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Marty Kearns, said at a news conference in Montreal, “Project Vector disrupted criminal networks that profit from the Canadian export market to sell stolen vehicles.”
According to Kearns vehicles, valued at $34.5 million, were to be sold on foreign markets around the world, in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and in South America.
The increase in car thefts has led to the federal government boosting funding for police forces across the country.
In January, police forces in Ontario received $121 million from Ottawa, in hopes of targeting the rise of stolen vehicles and carjackings in the GTA as the federal government had said that around 90,000 cars are stolen each year in Canada.
In 2023, Montreal police (SPVM) estimated that more than 11,000 vehicles were reported stolen on its territory, compared to 9,000 in 2022.
The force notes the number of car thefts has steadily been on the rise since 2019.
Bryan Gast, the vice-president of investigative services with Équité Association, a non-profit organization that provided police with expertise in the identification of stolen vehicles, said the project was a “prime example of how public and private partnerships can work together to combat auto theft.”
“This is extremely positive news and it shows what happens when law enforcement agencies collaborate with our border services agency to tackle vehicle theft” remarked Brian Kingston, the president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.
According to him, it was encouraging to see the police and the Canada Border Services Agency cracking down on stolen vehicles leaving through the port.
