CANADA: THREE Nigerians (names withheld) were among a syndicate of thieves the Toronto Police busted over the weekend in series of car thefts valued at over $30 million (N4.35 billion).
Eighteen members of the syndicate, which included shippers, freight forwarders, a Service Ontario staff, truck drivers, offloading employees at rail yards, and locksmiths, have been arrested and slapped with 640 offences.
Others are still at large and are being search for, the police said.
The offences range from commission of offence for criminal organization – theft of motor vehicle; commission of offence for criminal organization – trafficking; possession of property obtained by crime; conspiracy – trafficking; breach of trust; and possession of prohibited device knowing that its possession is unauthorized.
About 500 vehicles were reportedly stolen in the Greater Toronto Area by the Nigerians, who have been linked to a cult group from Nigeria, Black Axe, in collusion with some Ghanaian nationals and others, and subsequently sold them in Nigeria and Ghana, the police said.
It would be recalled that this year alone, police discovered that members of the Black Axe laundered over $5 billion (N7.25 trillion) in various fraudulent activities.
“The Toronto Police Service would like to make the public aware of an ongoing investigation. Project CBG was an investigation into the theft of high-end vehicles within the Greater Toronto Area. The targeted vehicles were the Acura MDX, Lexus and Toyota SUV,” the police said in a press release Friday.
The police added that some of the stolen vehicles were shipped to Tin Can Island, Lagos in Nigeria, and sold without proper documentation, while other vehicles were “re-VINned” (given a fraudulent Vehicle Identification Number), registered and used by members of the criminal enterprise, or sold to unsuspecting buyers.
Acting Deputy Chief Jim Ramer, who briefed journalists on Friday, said that the estimated value of each of the stolen car ranges between $60,000 (N8.6 million) and $80,000 (N11.6 million).
“It became apparent that this was more than some petty thieves hot-wiring cars,” Ramer said. “In fact, investigators began to uncover evidence of a sophisticated organized crime ring with international reach specialized in stealing high-end vehicles such as Lexus, Acura and high-end Toyota vehicles.”
He stated that at the time of investigation, police recovered 200 vehicles valued at $11 million (N1.59 billion), adding that the gang was responsible for between 10 to 15 percent of series of vehicles stolen in Toronto alone this year.
Also recovered when police carried out search warrants were 10 suspected stolen vehicles, motors and parts, two tractor-trailers, keys, computers and electronic accessories, three long-guns and magazines, heroin and cocaine.
No fewer than 50 officers were concurrently involved in the investigation, with the assistance of the Halton Regional Police Service, Peel Regional Police, York Regional Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian National Police, Canada Border Services Agency, the Insurance Bureau of Canada and the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Also, speaking during the press conference, Staff Inspector Mike Earl confirmed that the investigation was carried out in partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, which enable the police to stop all the activities involved in the scam.
