A joint operation between provincial police and law enforcement officials in Montreal has led to the arrest of 34 Quebec residents accused of auto theft crimes in Ontario.
During a news conference in Hawkesbury, Ont. on Friday morning, officers with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) confirmed that some of the suspects arrested as part of the investigation, dubbed Project Volcano, are as young as 16. The arrests, police said, relate to offences that occurred between March 2019 and Sept. 2023.
Police said they are seeing an increasing number of instances in which vehicles stolen in Ontario, largely in the Greater Toronto Area, are then transported to Quebec and shipped out of the region through the Port of Montreal.
Some of the suspects who are apprehended by the OPP reside in Quebec, police said, and do not return to Ontario to attend court or violate the conditions of their release, resulting in warrants being issued for their arrest.
“In many cases, they were wanted for not only auto theft but also for other many serious offences, including possession of a loaded firearm, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and impaired driving,” OPP Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns told reporters Friday.
“We have encountered accused as young as 16 years old driving vehicles recklessly in attempts to evade police. Several serious motor-vehicle collisions have resulted from these incidents, putting the lives of our police officers and the lives of members of the public at significant risk.”
Four of the suspects arrested as part of the probe are under the age of 18 and some did not possess a driver's licence, police said. Twelve outstanding suspects identified by police are currently serving time at correctional centres in Quebec and will be arrested upon their release from those facilities, investigators added.
OPP Supt. Joe Goodwin said some of the suspects arrested by police were found in residences with others who were wanted for auto theft offences.
"They were also found in possession of auto theft tools and technology," he said. "This demonstrated that despite having been previously charged, some of the accused continued to reoffend."
Insp. David Shane, of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), said the arrests in Project Volcano have "shaken the organizations involved in this activity."
“Together, we’ve struck a hard blow against auto theft rings in Ontario and Quebec. The message we are sending is clear. There are no borders between our provinces. We will continue and maintain pressure on all those involved in auto theft at all levels," he said.
“Crime knows no borders, we know that. But as we demonstrated this week, neither do the police.”
GTA sees spike violent carjackings, home invasions
Kearns said auto theft is impacting Ontarians at an “unprecedented” rate, noting that in the past seven weeks alone, nearly 3,000 vehicles were stolen across the province.
According to the OPP, there has been a 206 per cent increase in violent carjacking and home invasions in Ontario between 2021 and 2023.
These incidents, Kearns said, are happening “predominantly in the GTA,” where they have resulted in “serious injury and even death.”
“In 2023, there were 417 carjackings in the GTA (and) 125 of these involved incidents where firearms were seized,” he said. "The prevalence of firearms in vehicle crimes poses a serious threat to public safety."
Kearns noted that the OPP is leading another project in partnership with the CBSA and police services in the GTA and Quebec that focuses on intercepting stolen vehicles at the Port of Montreal. Hundreds of vehicles have been recovered as a result of that probe, he added.
"What is also concerning is the speed with which criminals steal vehicles, often using methods to defeat existing anti-theft technology. This includes relay attacks and hacking into the on-board diagnostics of vehicles," Kearns said.
"As new techniques are adopted to steal vehicles, law enforcement and partners are also pivoting our approaches to mitigate this issue."
