MONTREAL -- As many as 20 people from Montreal have been arrested in a multi-million-dollar theft ring that lifted close to 500 stolen luxury vehicles in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.
For five months, multiple police agencies worked together to bust an organized crime ring targeting high-end vehicles worth between $60,000 and $100,000 apiece. Police managed to recover 97 of the stolen cars.
While the bulk of the Ontario operation was carried out as Project SHILDON by the Ontario Provincial Police, Laval police also made four arrests in relation to the thefts of 40 vehicles in Laval and Greater Montreal
Those suspects are between the ages of 19 and 34 were arrested on Dec. 10 in connection with the stolen cars.
Those arrested by Laval police are:
- Charles Ohri-Belhumeur of Laval
- Shawn-Samuel Joseph of Laval
- Kevin Arismendy Munoz-Mejia of Montreal
- Ihab Ghalayini of Montreal
All four suspects appeared at the Laval courthouse on Dec.11 to face charges of theft over $5,000, concealment, conspiracy, mischief, possession of burglary tools and breach of conditions. The suspects may face additional charges after officers analyze all the items seized, Laval police say.
The OPP said thieves broke into the cars manually. They then disabled the alarm system and used an application to reprogram a different fob key to start the car.
The vehicles were then loaded in shipping containers through the Port of Montreal, bound for Africa or the Middle East.
They included:
- Lexus (RX350 and NX300)
- Toyota (Highlander, 4Runner, Tacoma) brands
- Ford F-Series vans.
Laval police were able to recover 20 stolen vehicles valued at $1.4 million.
During the course of the investigation, Laval police found out that the suspects were also being watched by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers, who, in turn, were conducting a vast investigation into a network of vehicle thefts in the province.
Laval police and the OPP linked three of the four individuals to several of the cases in Ontario.
In a news conference in Ottawa Tuesday, Bryan Mackillop of the OPP's organized crime unit said they've made a dent in this organized ring.
"Our residents have had criminals lurking about their homes at night. People had had their vehicles stolen right from their driveways while they sleep. It's not lost on us that it is extremely concerning and victimizing for these folks. Dealerships have had several vehicles stolen at one time by these organized criminals who have targeted any weakness in security and used it to their advantage," he said.
