A sweeping international auto theft investigation has led to the recovery of hundreds of stolen vehicles and the dismantling of a sophisticated organized crime network operating across Ontario and overseas.
The Ontario Provincial Police, working alongside the Canada Border Services Agency, announced the results of Project Chickadee, a multi-year probe targeting organized vehicle theft and the illegal export of stolen vehicles through Canadian shipping channels.
Police say the investigation exposed a criminal organization active across multiple stages of the auto theft supply chain. The group allegedly stole vehicles across Ontario, moved them through freight forwarding businesses, and exported them to foreign markets. Investigators confirmed links to transnational organized crime groups with global reach.
“Auto theft fuels organized criminal networks and threatens the safety of our communities, impacting families, businesses and neighbourhoods across Ontario,” police said ahead of a media briefing outlining the investigation’s scope.
Project Chickadee began in August 2023 after the OPP-led Provincial Auto Theft and Towing Team recovered four stolen vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area. Early findings pointed investigators toward registered freight forwarding companies and drivers accused of knowingly using fraudulent shipping documents to move stolen vehicles out of Canada.
A multi-year probe targeting the export pipeline
As the investigation expanded, officers inspected shipping containers at major ports, including Montreal, Vancouver, and Halifax. Police intercepted stolen vehicles before export to overseas destinations, including the Middle East and West Africa.
“We inspected shipping containers in transit and at the Port of Montreal, the Port of Vancouver and the port of Halifax, intercepting stolen vehicles before they could leave Canada. Our partners at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police assisted with an international component of this investigation,” said Det.-Insp. Scott Wade of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau.
Investigators say overseas resale markets offered significantly higher returns, with stolen vehicles selling for roughly double their Canadian value.
Coordinated raids across Ontario and Quebec
On October 16, 2025, police executed four search warrants in Toronto, Vaughan, Woodbridge, and Etobicoke. Officers seized $30,000 in cash, a re-VINed vehicle, two offence-related vehicles, key programmers, and Ontario licence plates. One person faced four Criminal Code auto theft charges, while two others fled before arrest.
A larger enforcement phase followed on November 27, 2025. Police executed search warrants at 23 residential and industrial locations and seized 13 vehicles across Brampton, Mississauga, Scarborough, Milton, Oshawa, Oakville, Bolton, Waterloo, Innisfil, Toronto, and Saint-Eustache, Quebec.
306 vehicles recovered, valued over $25 million
Police confirmed the recovery of 306 stolen vehicles valued at more than $25 million. Twenty individuals were arrested and now face a combined 134 charges, including participation in a criminal organization, money laundering, fraud, theft-related offences, and Customs Act violations. Two accused were already on release orders linked to prior auto theft or driving offences.
Seized items included three firearms, more than $190,000 in Canadian currency, over $32,000 in U.S. currency, shipping records, vehicle keys, diagnostic tools, two forklifts, two tractor-trailer cabs, and electronic devices.
“In addition, we seized two tractor trailer cabs and two forklifts as a fence related property this criminal investigation was shipping vehicles to destinations including the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and several countries in West Africa, where the demand for high end SUVs and luxury vehicles is high,” Wade said.
Police say financial intelligence from FINTRAC played a central role in the case, with proceeds-of-crime investigations now underway through the OPP Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit.
