The RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) recovered 392 vehicles at marine ports with a total value of $28 million as part of a one-year pilot project targeting “vehicles obtained through fraudulent means.”
The RCMP’s Federal Policing Criminal Operations – Financial Crime program launched Project NoCargo in June 2025 to investigate suspicious vehicle exports through marine ports across Canada, with assistance from Interpol Ottawa.
“In 2025, Interpol Ottawa detected an emerging trend of transnational organized crime networks exporting fraudulently obtained vehicles overseas,” the RCMP said in a media release on Wednesday.
“Criminals commit vehicle finance fraud by stealing or manufacturing personal credentials, which are used to apply for auto loans to purchase a vehicle.”
The Mounties said the same credentials are then used to take out an insurance policy on the vehicle “with the intention of committing fraud.”
“One of the key objectives of Project NoCargo was to rapidly identify and prevent the export of these fraudulently acquired vehicles through Canadian marine ports,” the RCMP said.
The RCMP says the CBSA referred potential financial fraud risks to the RCMP for further investigation. Once any criminal activity was confirmed, the RCMP intercepted vehicles “before they could be exported out of the country,” police said.
The 392 vehicles were intercepted and recovered in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
“This initiative is helping stop the flow of Canadian cars obtained through fraud and provides law enforcement with information to identify and ultimately disrupt criminal organizations,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said in a statement.
“We are confronting a complex problem that requires manufacturers, insurance companies, shippers, law enforcement agencies and governments to work together on solutions.”
The Canada Border Services Agency intercepted 1,590 stolen vehicles in ports and rail yards across Canada last year.
