The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have arrested 20 individuals and recovered more than 300 stolen vehicles as part of a major auto theft investigation into a criminal organization shipping stolen vehicles overseas.
The investigation, known as Project Chickadee, began in August 2023 when the OPP recovered four stolen vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), OPP Detective Inspector Scott Wade said at a Dec. 17 press conference announcing the investigation’s results.
“Evidence revealed a sophisticated criminal network, including registered freight forwarding companies, utilizing fraudulent documentation to facilitate the illegal export of stolen vehicles overseas,” Wade said.
The OPP and CBSA carried out a joint investigation to inspect shipping containers in transit and at the Port of Montreal, the Port of Vancouver, and the Port of Halifax to intercept stolen vehicles before they left Canada….