York Regional Police recover 50 vehicles worth $3 million, lay charges

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Two Ontario men and five Quebec men face numerous charges after York Regional Police recovered more than 50 stolen vehicles worth $3 million and $80,000 in cash during an investigation known as Project Extinction.

Investigators executed search warrants on two residences and a commercial property.

Among those arrested were Garfield Duncan, 31, of Erin, Ont., and Aomar Abdolah, 34, of Milton, Ont.

They both face 17 charges each of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and five charges each of trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000.

Two other investigations resulted in the additional arrests of and numerous charges against five Quebec men, a warrant for a sixth outstanding Quebec male suspect, and two more vehicles being recovered including a 2020 Ford F150 valued at $65,000 and a Lexus Rx350, with an approximate value of $50,000.

Over the past few years, police in York region have seen an increase in vehicle thefts from residential driveways with most happening between midnight and 6 a.m.

Authorities say after using screwdrivers to open either the driver or passenger doors while not setting off an alarm, thieves use an electronic device, often used by mechanics to reprogram the factory setting, to connect to a port below the dashboard.

“They go ahead and hook up to the onboard diagnostic computer like through that port and they’ll have a bunch of methods they’ll use to reprogram the key,” said Det. Scott Cresswell.

“The tools can be very simple or they can be very complex. Obviously, the more complex ones, the more expensive ones, will reprogram faster, in a quicker manner.”

Cresswell says the whole process can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.

Once stolen, vehicles are typically shipped overseas in shipping containers.

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“If it’s a Toyota product or Lexus product or a Honda product, it’s often going to Africa with the two main ports being Nigeria and Ghana,” said Creswell.

“If you see something like high-value trucks, they’re often going to the Middle East and they port into Dubai, then they’ll move from the UA to different locations like Lebanon. A Range Rover product will generally go to the Middle East.”

To help prevent vehicle theft, police are advising people to park their vehicles in a locked garage, use both steering wheel and data port locks, and use a quality video surveillance system for day and night use.