Laval police have (SPL) arrested five men after carrying out 10 searches in connection with an alleged vehicle theft ring.
Jean-Guy Lebeau, 39, Dave Milliard, 40, Kevin Lafontaine, 33, Jean Tellier, 44, and Joel Simon Campusano, 29 were arrested on March 16 and appeared in the Laval courthouse on vehicle theft charges.
Lebeau and Millard remain in custody and Tellier and Lafontaine were released on conditions.
Campusano also picked up a charge of possession with intent to traffic and was released on conditions.
Project Gardon was an inter-provincial, multi-jurisdictional effort led by SPL general crime squad officers, who were assisted by Montreal police (SPVM), Quebec provincial police (SQ), Trois-Rivieres and Terrebonne police departments, the Canadian Border Services Agency and other agencies.
Officers were responding to a wave of car thefts that started at the end of May last year.
"The suspects used various tricks to commit the crimes," police said in a news release. "At times, they would show up in various mall parking lots and steal targeted cars. At other times, they would install GPS locators underneath vehicles. These would then be stolen hours or days later at night from residential driveways."
The alleged thieves targeted the following models: Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Dodge Ram and Ford F-Series.
The investigation focused on nearly 30 vehicle thefts, six of which were in Laval. Cars were also stolen in cities throughout Quebec and Ontario, police say.
"The total value of the stolen vehicles, intended for export, is approximately $2 million," police say. "Police and investigators also searched six residences and four vehicles, leading to the seizure of various items, including a car."
