An international auto theft investigation led by the Ontario Provincial Police and the Windsor Police Service resulted in 23 people arrested on 279 charges.
The 16-month investigation, dubbed Project Fairfield, started in April 2022 and included other police organizations like the Canada Border Service Agency, the London Police Service, the Peel Regional Police, and Equite Association.
The investigation led police to believe that a sophisticated crime group was stealing vehicles in Windsor and the surrounding area and then shipping them to overseas countries like the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Lebanon via cargo containers.
Lead investigator and OPP Detective Inspector Andy Bradford indicated the dismantling of the crime group will have a significant impact on the number of thefts in the region.
"With short-term enforcement, unfortunately, the group can be back at it in a hurry. In this case, we feel that we've dismantled the crime group and there will be a significant positive impact for the public and investigations like this will act as a deterrent to others," said Bradford.
The accused were also fraudulently modifying stolen vehicles' identification numbers to sell them through private sales or use them in other illicit activities.
As part of the investigation, police seized a number of stolen vehicles and illicit drugs with a street value of $506,000. Seized items included:
- 138 stolen vehicles with a value of $9.1 million
· 1,050 methamphetamine tablets;
· 4.9 pounds of cannabis;
· 1.1 pounds of cannabis concentrate;
· 320 grams of cocaine; and,
· $144,635 in Canadian currency and $26,698 United States currency.
Of the 23 people arrested, 14 were from the Windsor-Essex area, two were from London, and the rest were from the Greater Toronto Area.
Police indicated the thieves targeted Dodge Ram trucks, Jeep Cherokees, and other vehicles with the remote keyless start feature.
Many of the vehicles will be returned to their owners or to the insurance companies that paid the victims' insurance claims.
