York Regional Police have arrested eight people and recovered 50 stolen vehicles following an investigation into a rash of driveway thefts.

Police say that they have been seeing an uptick in the theft of vehicles from residential driveways for the last several years.

They say that in most of the thefts the culprits use an electronic device typically used by mechanics to reprogram a vehicle’s settings and get it to accept a key that they have brought with them.

The stolen vehicles are then typically sent overseas in shipping containers for resale, police say.

In the most recent investigation, dubbed Project Extinction, police say that they were able to identify eight suspects in total.

They say that they then executed search warrants at two residential addresses and one commercial address, ultimately seizing 50 stolen vehicles valued at approximately $3 million, as well as $80,000 in cash.

The investigation was led by the York Regional Police Auto/Cargo Theft Unit.

No further information has been released.