Police told a press conference
on Friday morning that thieves stole the cars according to a 'shopping list'
handed down to them from higher ranking members in the ring, acquired vehicle
identification numbers (VINs) and key codes from the Service Ontario employee
and had keys cut by a locksmith, who was also arrested.
The cars were then taken to
shipping yards in Montreal and Halifax and arrived in Nigeria and Ghana within
days, where they were sold for roughly half their market value, police said.
Police said the investigation,
nicknamed Project CBG, began in the spring of 2015 after they noticed a string
of luxury vehicle thefts in and around Toronto. When they began investigating,
they noticed that the thefts weren't one-offs, but rather part of an intricate
web, they said.
"We had to decide as a
police service and with our partner agencies whether we deal with the thefts at
hand or we take the head of the snake off — so we went for the head of the
snake," Staff Inspector Mike Earl said
Police say the thefts accounted
for about 10 per cent of all vehicles stolen in Toronto in 2015, totaling
approximately $30 million. Some vehicles were stolen from as far as Hamilton,
Waterloo and Guelph, Ontario
Approximately 200 vehicles,
representing $11 million, were recovered from shipping containers with
assistance from authorities in Spain and Belgium.
Not all the vehicles were
destined for West Africa. Police say some were destined for Ontario, where they
may have been sold to unsuspecting customers with new VINs.
Police say they are working
with counterparts in the United States who have experience investigating crimes
linked to Black Axe. The crime ring operates internationally and has been
linked to money laundering scams of up to $5 billion, police said.
Tribune Newspaper
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