Seizure of 54 cars at Port of Montreal targeted 2 criminal groups, Quebec provincial police say
In recent weeks, car theft has become major talking point in federal politics
The police operation that led to the seizure of 54 stolen vehicles in 26 containers at the Port of Montreal targeted two criminal groups, according to Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
Matthieu Pronovost, a lieutenant with the provincial police force, said the stolen vehicles were mostly luxury vehicles but also included Toyota RAV4s and Honda CRVs.
In recent weeks, the prevalence of car thefts in Canada has become a major talking point in federal politics.
The federal government says an estimated 90,000 cars are stolen annually in Canada, resulting in about $1 billion in costs to Canadian insurance policy holders and taxpayers.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals held a summit that brought together federal, provincial and municipal officials, as well as representatives of the automotive and insurance industries to discuss the problem.
The federal government also announced it would spend $28 million to help curb exports of stolen vehicles. The money would give the border services agency, CBSA, more capacity to detect and search shipping containers carrying stolen cars.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also made a public appearance this month at the Port of Montreal — a commonly used exit point for stolen vehicles being shipped overseas.
Pronovost said this week's seizures were the result of two investigations. One of them began in August and the other is only a few weeks old, he said, and the vehicles were destined for Morocco and Belgium.
So far, there have been no arrests.
Tuesday's operation was carried out by a team made up of investigators from the SQ, the RCMP and municipal police services. The team, which is referred to in French as an Escouade régionale mixte (ERM), was announced last week by the SQ.
Pronovost points out this team will support the work that's been carried out by the SQ's Bureau des partenariats en enquêtes (BPE), which was put in place in 2022.
"So, it's not a start, it's more of a continuation," he said. "Now, we'll have more resources devoted to attacking this problem."
The ERM in charge of vehicle theft investigations says drivers should follow certain tips to avoid becoming victims:
- Lock the car doors, close the windows and retractable roofs and leave no visible objects of value behind.
- Avoiding leaving the vehicle's keys, insurance and registration documents inside the vehicle.
- Even if your keys are inside your home, make sure to not leave them close to the vehicle, especially if the vehicle can be started remotely.
- If possible, leave your car parked in a well-lit area.
- Never leave a running vehicle unattended.
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With files from Kwabena Oduro and Radio-Canada