6 ‘mid-level’ players charged, 14 high-end vehicles recovered in auto theft probe, say Toronto police

Six people are facing more than 60 charges following a Toronto police-led probe into the theft and trafficking of stolen vehicles.

Six people are facing more than 60 charges following a probe into the theft and trafficking of stolen vehicles in Toronto.

Last August, Toronto police launched an investigation and on Sept. 13, the Canada Border Services Agency intercepted and examined a shipping container facility that contained six “chopped-up” vehicles, said Insp. Joseph Matys, of the Hold-Up Squad.

Toronto Police Service (TPS), after liaising with border services, determined that those vehicles were stolen from Toronto, and York, Peel and Halton regions.

Matys said after several months of further investigation, police executed six search warrants at a Toronto auto body shop on Jan. 24, which resulted in the arrest of five people and the recovery of eight “high-end” vehicles, including Mercedes-Benz, Land Rovers, and Jaguars. Police said those vehicles that had been stolen in Toronto, Halton, Durham, and Ottawa.

A sixth suspect was later arrested, Matys noted.

Police say during those raids, officers also recovered a replica handgun, ammunition, and a GPS jammer as well as other items of “evidentiary value” linked to the investigation.

Photos provided by police of those vehicles show them in various states of disassembly.

Matys said the vehicles were chopped up to make them easier to ship and also to “avoid detection.”

“These vehicles, we believe, were destined for export. If they were to be destined for Canada, we have certain rules and regulations regarding certification,” he said.

“Vehicles cut up in this fashion would not be suitable for Canadian roads, however if you export them to foreign countries those rules do not exist.”

He added that the accused are believed to be “mid-level players” … “not the people going out and stealing the vehicles at the frontline level.”

“These were, I believe, the processors of the vehicles that would then be moved on to the next level,” Matys said.

“I don’t believe this bust is a minor bump in the road for these criminals, but I do believe further investigation is required to dismantle those above and below this organization.”

• 6 arrested, 5 remain at large in auto theft ring that operated around Toronto Pearson Airport: police
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Belal Khaled Alazrak, 31, of Ajax, and Ahmad Khaled Ahmad Shawer, 27, of Toronto, are both set to appear in bail count on Jan. 27, while Toronto residents Khalad Alazrak, 57; Wajdi Shamsa, 40; Mohammad Najjar, 28; and Metib Ali Awwad Elfawair, 20, have a March 18 court date.

And while auto thefts across Canada were down in the first half of 2024, The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says one province remains a hotbed.

“Ontario is still the epicentre of that crisis and if you want to drill down even further, Toronto and the GTA is where the heart of the problem is,” said Liam McGuinty, IBC’s vice-president of strategy.Over the past decade, the value of auto theft claims has soared by 442 per cent, which the national industry association representing Canada’s private home, car, and business insurers said often trickles down to insurance premiums.

“The average impact of car thefts on an Ontario driver would be somewhere around $130 a year,” McGuinty added.

This investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone with further information is asked to contact them at 416-808-7350 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

With files from CV News Toronto’s Rahim Ladhani