Ontario police say a complex, multi-year investigation has dismantled an organized criminal network responsible for stealing hundreds of vehicles across the province and illegally exporting them to overseas markets.
The joint Ontario Provincial Police and Canada Border Services Agency probe, dubbed “Project Chickadee,” focused not only on vehicle thefts, but on freight forwarding companies accused of knowingly facilitating the illegal export of stolen vehicles to foreign markets, authorities said.
“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 event outlining the investigation’s results.
According to investigators, the criminal organization spanned multiple levels of the auto-theft supply chain and had international reach, with links to “transnational organized crime groups.”
A multi-year probe targeting the export pipeline
Project Chickadee began in August 2023, after officers with the OPP-led Provincial Auto Theft and Towing (PATT) Team recovered four stolen vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area.
Police say evidence quickly pointed to the involvement of registered freight forwarding companies and drivers, who allegedly used fraudulent shipping documents to move stolen vehicles out of Canada and into overseas markets, 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,” Det.-Insp. Scott Wade of the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau said during the conference.
Police say the probe ultimately uncovered a network with international reach where they can sell vehicles for roughly double their Canadian value.
Coordinated raids across Ontario and Quebec
As part of the probe, police executed four search warrants in Toronto, Vaughan, Woodbridge and Etobicoke on October 16, 2025.
The investigation led to multiple coordinated enforcement actions across Ontario and Quebec.
Officers seized $30,000 in cash, a re-VINed vehicle, two additional vehicles alleged to be offence-related property, key programmers and various Ontario licence plates.
One individual was arrested and charged with four auto-theft-related Criminal Code offences, while two others fled police before being apprehended.
A second, larger operation followed on November 27, 2025, with search warrants executed at 23 residential and industrial locations and 13 vehicles across the GTA including Brampton, Scarborough, Waterloo, Bolton, Oshawa, Oakville, Mississauga, Innisfil, Toronto and Milton as well as one location in Saint-Eustache, Quebec.
306 vehicles stolen valued at over $25 million
Police say the results of the operation were “significant,” as they recovered 306 stolen vehicles valued at more than $25 million.
“Twenty individuals were arrested for a combined 134 charges including participation in a criminal organization, money laundering, fraud and theft related offences, as well as Customs Act offences. Of the 20 individuals charged, two of the accused in Project Chickadee were on release orders for a pre prior conviction relating to auto theft or driving related offences,” Wade noted.
Investigators also seized:
- Three firearms
- More than $190,000 in Canadian currency
- More than $32,000 in U.S. currency
- Vehicle shipping documentation
- Key fobs, vehicle keys and diagnostic equipment
- Two forklifts and two tractor-trailer cabs
- Electronic devices, including cellphones, laptops and hard drives
“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 the investigation highlights how organized crime groups are exploiting global shipping networks to move stolen vehicles out of Canada and fuel a lucrative international black market.
The accused include owners and operators of registered freight forwarding businesses, as well as individuals allegedly involved directly in vehicle thefts across Ontario.
Police say financial intelligence from FINTRAC was critical to the investigation, and the OPP’s Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit is now pursuing proceeds-of-crime investigations tied to the case.
