Investigations have revealed that most cars stolen in Ontario Canada and Quebec are being shipped to West Africa, with Nigeria and Ghana as a major dump point.

According to an investigation by Marketplace, Police in the region, west of Toronto, say that 80 to 85 percent of these stolen vehicles are tied to organized crime and destined to be shipped overseas, many to West Africa, CBC reports.

The report reveals that the types of cars found and stolen from Canada are in high demand overseas. Also, demand for Canadian cars is high because of their reliability, availability of parts, and the consequences for thieves are low.

Such targeted cars include; Honda CRV, Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX, Ford F-150 to mention a few.

Car companies prioritizing convenience over security with those push-to-start ignitions allow thieves to quickly and easily steal vehicles to ship overseas.

Some stolen vehicles can be given a new, fake vehicle identification number (VIN) and resold within Canada, or used to transfer drugs, guns, or for human trafficking.

Some sellers don’t even remove Ontario license plates or Canadian dealership stickers. One image from Ghana in 2017 shows cars with Ontario license plates advertised along the main road. In February, researchers were able to find a 2018 Lexus RX 350 on a used car lot in Lagos, Nigeria. The vehicle had undergone a safety inspection in Niagara Region, in southern Ontario, in August 2021.

Most times, these cars can sell for nearly double the cost they would go for in Canada. A 2018 Lexus RX 350 was listed for sale for 28,000,000 Naira, or about $85,000 Cdn. That same vehicle with similar mileage has a market price of around $48,000 on Autotrader.ca, an online marketplace for cars in Canada.

Once inside the car, these thieves typically plug a key programmer available for under $1,000 online into the car’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port, usually located under the steering wheel where mechanics can plug in a diagnostic tool to the car’s computer.

Using this port, these thieves can program a blank key fob to match the vehicle. It can be done on nearly any vehicle with a push-to-start ignition. Vehicles with physical keys require a separate tool to clone the key.

Once the vehicle is stolen and left in a ‘cool down’ spot to ensure it isn’t being tracked, the cars are typically driven to Montreal or Halifax, placed in shipping containers, and shipped overseas. This can happen in as little as 24 hours, say police.

Once these cars are shipped, they are placed on popular online market websites, both in Nigeria and Ghana, to find potential buyers.

According to the investigation, electric vehicles are rarely stolen, and only one Tesla has ever been reported stolen in Ontario.