Project Starter: Recovering stolen cars from shipping containers

A car found in a shipping container as part of Project Starter (Barrie Police)

On Thursday, Barrie Police and South Simcoe Police announced that 40 stolen cars, valued at more $3 million have been recovered.

The joint police forces dubbed it “Project Starter,” the largest ever stolen vehicle recovery in the history of both services, spanning several different countries.

According to a joint statement from both services, it was a collaborative effort between police, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Equite Association, a non profit organization that works with law enforcement agencies to combat car theft across the country.

The project spanned across the province and overseas.

According to authorities, CBSA discovered 19 vehicles hidden in shipping containers in Montreal and across the Greater Toronto Area, with help from Barrie police.

Barrie Police Chief Rich Johnston said the shipping containers were going overseas.

“You can imagine, they’re going around the world,” said Johnston. “We’re just happy to be working with our South Simcoe partners, to bring them back.”

Among the recovered vehicles, police say many were reported stolen from all over Ontario, including Simcoe County, York region, Toronto, Peel, Halton and the Niagara Region.

Abied Morgan, director of intelligence and investigations for CBSA said 21 additional vehicles were recovered from the ports in the Bahamas, Spain and Ghana.

“We also have liaison officers stationed across the world, we’ve got about 50 of them,” said Morgan. “We’re able to coordinate with them to work with local customs officials in foreign countries. If we suspect, shipment of one of vehicles has arrived at a foreign destination, then we have to interdict it there.”

The recovered vehicles include Hondas CRVs, Toyota Tundras, Lexus RXs, Ford F150s and one Lamborghini.

In late April, a 31-year-old man was arrested in connection to the investigation. He was charged with trafficking property obtained by crime and possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.

The investigation was backed by a $1.8 million grant from the provincial government in 2024, allowing for additional services and public education, something South Simcoe Police Chief John Van Dyke said is critical.

“They may not know how to protect their vehicle and if they are educated, they have the ability to take the steps to what we call target harden, which is making it harder for their vehicle to be stolen,” said Van Dyke.

With Johnston adding it was a successful investigation.

“A lot of hard work, but at the end of the day if you’re doing what you can to reduce the theft of your vehicle, it helps police and it helps a whole bunch of things.”

Despite the successful investigation, police remind the public to be cautious when it comes to vehicle theft and take the proper precautions.