Massive Toronto auto theft probe so far nabs 59 people, recovers 363 vehicles

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Project Thoroughbred, an ongoing Toronto Police investigation into auto thefts that began in July, has led so far to the arrest of 59 people and the laying of 302 charges.

Warrants have also been issued for more than a dozen people and more than 363 stolen luxury and non-luxury vehicles, valued at approximately $14 million, have been recovered.

“While auto thefts in Toronto have declined by 21% compared to this time in 2023, the problem persists, particularly as it relates to carjackings,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, who was joined by Supt. Ron Taverner, Unit Commander of 23 Division, and Toronto Councillor Josh Matlow at a Friday morning press conference.

The investigation uncovered a scheme involving the registration of phony VINs by employees of a ServiceOntario location with the fake VINs used to register real licence plates and sell the stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers at a significant discount.

Taverner described auto thefts as “an epidemic, particularly in the northwest end of the city.”

“As you can imagine this is a very lucrative market for these stolen vehicles and stolen parts. They offer high rewards financially with minimum risk,” Taverner  said.

“The reinforcing of the cycle of thefts and the export, the high demand for cars overseas, make it difficult for investigators to keep on top of these things.”

He said Project Thoroughbred uncovered three elements of the scheme: The registration of fake VIN numbers for stolen vehicles, the quick dismantling of stolen vehicles by local chop shops (often 24-48 hours after they are stolen), and the overseas shipment of vehicles with phony VINs.

“We have identified and flagged more than 100 falsely registered plates and the VINs in the police databases,” said Taverner.

“Using this information, police have seized 40 of these stolen vehicles with phony VINs, seven more were located in Toronto using the automated plate reading system, and eight more were found in some of the chop shops that we executed search warrants in.”

Of the 59 people arrested, none are ServiceOntario employees but he said that investigation is ongoing and he expects those charges to be laid soon.

“At this point we have people that will be arrested,” he said.

The probe by Toronto Police also involved the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), and Equité Association, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), York, Durham, and Montreal Police Services, and the OPP.

Matlow was pushing a city motion, unanimously supported by council, for Toronto to work with both the province and feds to combat auto theft in terms of making VINs exclusive to licensed car dealers, upgrading car identifiers to make it more difficult to sell them on the black market, and improving screening at ports.

“It’s an epidemic, it’s a crisis,” Matlow said of auto theft.

“We’ve never seen an uptick like this, certainly in my lifetime, where so many people are going to bed every night in fear of their vehicle being stolen, their home being broken into, just outside of where their kids sleep, and that is not acceptable.”

Demkiw said Project Thoroughbred builds on the success of Toronto Police’s previous operation, Project Stallion, which recovered more than 1,000 vehicles and led to nearly 230 arrests.

And MPP Graham McGregor, the associate minister of Auto Theft and Bail Reform, said the Ontario government is “proud to fund investigations like Project Thoroughbred that put a dent in auto theft.”

“We continue to support projects like this one to keep our streets and communities safe,” he added.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2300, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

jstevenson@postmedia.com