Calgary police crack $2M vehicle-cloning operation after year-long probe
4 suspects wanted by police for stealing vehicles and reselling them with new VINs
Calgary police are looking for four people they believe were involved in a vehicle cloning operation worth almost $2 million.
Police say they were tipped off last October about an operation conducted out of Auto Detailing Specialists at 316 36th Ave. N.E.
After a year-long investigation, police believe at least four people were stealing vehicles from auto dealerships, putting a new Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on them and selling them with the new number.
The culprits obtained the vehicles either by purchasing them with fake IDs and bank drafts or by stealing a vehicle's keys during a test drive and returning to the dealership later to complete the theft.
Police say the vehicles, worth an estimated total of $1.73 million, were sold for $575,000.
On Jan. 26, police executed a search warrant at Auto Detailing Specialists and seized six stolen vehicles, worth approximately $730,000. Officers also found 119 grams of methamphetamine.
Police have charged four suspects with 22 offences. There are warrants for the arrest of:
- Sherwin Hadji-Latiph Mendoza, 38, of Edmonton.
- Kathleen Marie Jackson, 32, of Calgary.
- Jason Joseph Buckley, 46, of Calgary.
- Ashley Marie Myshrall, 33, of Calgary.
"This is yet another example of how complex auto theft fraud investigations can be," says Staff Sgt. Graeme Smiley with the CPS auto theft team in a release.
"These offenders took significant steps to evade detection and disguise stolen vehicles, which resulted in an extensive amount of evidence that required review."
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the suspects is to call police at 403-266-1234 or contact Crime Stoppers.