York police break up crime ring targeting Ontario golf courses
Police say thieves used flat bed trailer to move carts
The mystery of golf carts disappearing from courses around Ontario has been largely solved after York Regional Police charged multiple people involved in what appears to be a crime ring involved in trafficking stolen goods.
"They're pretty sneaky," said Det. Const. Kyle Chalmers, who led the investigation. "They're definitely smart."
In June, CBC News first reported more than a dozen golf courses across the province, many concentrated in cottage country north of Toronto, were increasingly frustrated with a lack of answers as golf carts were disappearing on a monthly basis, suspected of being sold on the black market. Now, they're hoping the arrests will put an end to the rash of thefts.
On Wednesday, police announced charges against four people, including trafficking in property obtained by crime, theft and break and enters.
Police say the investigation that began in August started with a call from a golf course that had 12 carts stolen. That led them to identify more thefts by the same people across York, Durham, Waterloo regions and Simcoe County.
In mid-October, police raided several homes and storage lockers in both east Gwillimbury, about 60 km north of Toronto, and the Town of Georgina, 25 km further north.
In these searches, they found what they describe as a large quantity of stolen property, including 18 golf carts worth almost $200,000, rare Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering trading cards worth $100,000 and more than two kilograms of cannabis.
Chalmers told CBC News police found the golf carts on a farm property in the area, taken there by an enclosed flatbed trailer. They linked the accused to at least six separate cart thefts.
GPS trackers on carts helped police
"You have something stolen, you feel really violated," said Rob Brandon, general manager of Pheasant Run Golf Course in Sharon, Ont., just northeast of Newmarket, Ont.
It was Brandon's stolen carts that York police were able to retrieve. Luckily, they had GPS tracking so police were able to find and return them within 24 hours.
"Relieved was one reaction," he said. "But then, excitement or optimism to see that these guys might finally get caught."
According to the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada (NGCOA), at least 258 golf carts had been stolen from 23 Ontario golf courses to date since 2021, with the majority stolen in 2022 and 2024.
"I'm glad that this will be a big, strong example [for other thieves]," said Blair Breen, regional director for the central Ontario chapter of the NGCOA.
While it's still unclear how many of the thefts were committed by the people police charged, Breen is hoping they were responsible for the majority of them.
"I think these guys will be linked to a lot of stuff."
A thriving black market
However, since just 18 carts were recovered, golf courses who didn't get their property back suspect they've already been sold.
"I would say our cars are long gone," said Rob Davis, sales manager with Turf Care Products, a golf-cart distributor to about a third of all the courses in Ontario.
"I'm hoping … this is the end of it."
Eight of Davis's carts were stolen in March from his warehouse in Keswick, Ont., about 70 km north of Toronto.
In June, he told CBC News there is a thriving black market for the vehicles as prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, with many uses for them, including trailer parks, cottages and farms.
Before the pandemic, his carts sold for about $6,000 each. They now cost at least $10,000.
"Somebody has to be very organized and understand the marketplace and know where to sell that many cars at once," he said.
Meanwhile, York police are continuing to investigate and track down where other stolen carts ended up, saying more people could face charges.
"There's definitely going to be other parties involved," said Chalmers.
"It is a big, big market."
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With files from Tess Ha