A joint investigation by police in York and Durham region has helped to dismantle a “large network of criminals” that allegedly stole vehicles from parking lots and private driveways across the GTA and then shipped them to Africa for sale on the black market.

‘Operation Lakeland’ began in Oct, 2013 when members of the Durham Regional Police Property Crimes Unit noticed an increase in the number of auto thefts and later found a connection between two of the vehicle thefts and a person of interest in an ongoing York Regional Police auto fraud and theft investigation.

The investigation then culminated on Dec. 8 with the execution of seven search warrants across the GTA and the arrest of seven people, who were charged with a combined 46 offences.

Police also recovered 29 stolen vehicles and one stolen motorcycle, for a total value of about $1.19 million, during the execution of the search warrants.

Several suspects who played “secondary roles” in the theft ring are still outstanding, according to police.

“This crime group included an informal collection of thieves who stole the vehicles, a licenced car dealer who fraudulently obtained MTO documents, a person responsible for changing the VINS on the vehicles to mask their identity and an exporter who shipped the vehicles from Canada to be sold in Africa,” Insp. Bruce Townley told reporters on Tuesday morning.

According to Townley, the thieves targeted primarily Toyota vehicles but also Land Rovers and Hondas.

It is not immediately clear how the thieves stole the vehicles, but York Regional Police Insp. Fred Moffat told reporters that they “had enough technological expertise” that they were able to defeat internal security systems and then later on, create keys.

“They would reproduce keys, which would allow them to make them (the vehicle) into viable things that they could make money off. Then the vehicles were loaded into sea containers and with the volume of cars that are shipped these days, it is very easy to not get detected,” he said.

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