More than 500 cars recovered in vehicle theft investigation, police say | CBC News

Hundreds of vehicles have been recovered and more than 100 people have been charged in an ongoing Toronto Police Service investigation into car and catalytic converter thefts in the city’s west end, police announced Wednesday.

Between November 2022 and April 11, 2023, investigators have charged 119 people and recovered 556 vehicles that were stolen in Toronto, police said at a news conference. 

“Thanks to the dedication of our officers, hundreds of stolen vehicles have been recovered before they left the country or were used in support of other crimes,” Supt. Ron Taverner, the district commander for 22 and 23 divisions for Toronto police, said in a news release.

The recovered vehicles have a combined value of more than $27 million, Taverner said at the news conference.

In 2022, almost 2,000 vehicles were stolen in the city’s west end, police say, many of them Honda CR-Vs and Ford F-150 trucks. The area also saw more than 300 catalytic converter thefts, police say. 

According to police, after the cars are stolen they would either be shipped overseas to be sold, or used to carry out other crimes locally.

“By and large, there are little cells or large cells of individuals who are involved in these thefts and working as organized groups,” Taverner said.

In one instance, Taverner said, an investigation started with a single car that led police to a location with multiple containers that would be used to transport vehicles to the Port of Montreal. That initial car led police to thirty other cars, he said. 

When police recover a car, if the insurance on the vehicle has yet to be paid out, it goes back to its original owner, said Taverner. If the insurance has already been paid out, the car goes to the insurance company, he added.