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Project Thoroughbred, an ongoing Toronto police investigation into auto thefts that began in July, has so far led to the arrests of 59 people and the laying of 302 charges.

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Arrest warrants were also issued for more than a dozen people and more than 363 luxury and other stolen vehicles, worth approximately $14 million, were recovered.

“Although car thefts in Toronto are down 21 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, the problem persists, particularly when it comes to carjackings,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw , accompanied by the superintendent. Ron Taverner, unit commander of the 23rd Division, and Toronto Councilor Josh Matlow at a press conference Friday morning.

The investigation revealed a scheme involving the registration of false VINs by employees of a ServiceOntario facility, with the fake VINs being used to register real license plates and sell the stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers at a significant discount .

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Taverner described car thefts as “an epidemic, especially in the northwest part of the city.”

“As you can imagine, this is a very lucrative market for these stolen vehicles and parts. They offer high financial rewards with minimal risk,” Taverner said.

“The strengthening cycle of theft and export, as well as high demand for cars overseas, makes it difficult for investigators to track these things.”

He said the Thoroughbred Project uncovered three elements of the scheme: the registration of false VIN numbers for stolen vehicles, the rapid dismantling of stolen vehicles by local repair shops (often 24 to 48 hours after they were stolen), and the Overseas shipping of vehicles with false VIN.

“We have identified and reported more than 100 falsely registered license plates and VINs in police databases,” Taverner said.

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“Using this information, police seized 40 of these stolen vehicles with fake VINs, seven more were located in Toronto using the automated plate reading system, and eight more were found in some of the shops of retail locations where we executed search warrants.”

Of the 59 people arrested, none are ServiceOntario employees, but he said the investigation is ongoing and he expects charges to be laid soon.

“At this point, we have people who are going to be arrested,” he said.

The Toronto Police investigation also involved the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the Equity Association, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the York, Durham and Montreal, as well as the Ontario Provincial Police.

Matlow was pushing a municipal motion, unanimously supported by council, for Toronto to work with the province and federal government to combat car theft by making VINs exclusive to licensed car dealers, improving car identifiers for make it more difficult to sell them on the market. black market and improved control in ports.

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“It’s an epidemic, it’s a crisis,” Matlow said of car theft.

“We’ve never seen such an increase, certainly in my lifetime, where so many people go to bed every night in fear that their vehicle will be stolen, their house will be broken into, right outside of where they’re sleeping their children, and that is not acceptable.

Demkiw said Project Thoroughbred builds on the success of Toronto Police’s previous operation, Project Stallion, which recovered more than 1,000 vehicles and led to nearly 230 arrests.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2300 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or at www.222tips.com.

[email protected]

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