Law enforcement has dismantled an auto theft criminal organization by focusing not only on vehicle theft, but also on the illegal exportation of stolen vehicles through freight forwarding companies. As part of Project CHICKADEE, 306 stolen vehicles destined for foreign markets such as the Middle East and West Africa have been recovered.
Today, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)-led Provincial Auto Theft and Towing (PATT) Team and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced the dismantling of a criminal organization involved in facilitating the movement of stolen vehicles from Canada to destinations overseas. The accused include owners/operators of several registered businesses within the freight forwarding sector, as well as individuals allegedly involved in the theft of vehicles across Ontario. The criminal organization and the associated network span internationally.
Project CHICKADEE began in August 2023 after members of the OPP-led PATT Team recovered four stolen vehicles in the Greater Toronto Area. Evidence indicated the involvement of freight forwarding companies and drivers, utilizing registered businesses and fraudulent documentation to ship stolen vehicles to the Middle East and West Africa. Further investigation revealed the criminal organization had international reach and association to transnational organized crime groups.
The OPP PATT Team, the OPP Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau (OCEB) and the CBSA Intelligence and Investigations Operations Division (IIOD) jointly continued this investigation. Shipping containers were inspected in transit and at the Port of Montréal, the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Halifax in an effort to halt the shipment of stolen vehicles by this criminal organization. Équité Association, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) provided assistance throughout Project CHICKADEE.
As part of Project CHICKADEE, four search warrants were executed in Toronto, Vaughan, Woodbridge and Etobicoke on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Officers seized $30,000 in Canadian currency, one re-VINed vehicle, two other vehicles as offence-related property, key programmers and various Ontario licence plates. One individual was arrested and charged with four auto theft-related Criminal Code (CC) offences. Two individuals fled from police and were later apprehended.
On Thursday, November 27, 2025, search warrants were executed at 23 residential and industrial locations and 13 vehicles in the GTA and surrounding area, including Brampton, Scarborough, Waterloo, Bolton, Oshawa, Oakville, Mississauga, Innisfil, Toronto, and Milton, as well as one search warrant in Saint-Eustache, Québec.
Search warrants were executed by members from:
- OPP PATT Team and partners, including:
- Toronto Police Service (TPS)
- HRPS
- York Regional Police (YRP)
- Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS)
- London Police Service
- Niagara Regional Police Service
- Windsor Police Service
- Sûreté du Québec
- Ottawa Police Service
- Peel Regional Police
- Brantford Police Service
- CBSA IIOD
- OPP OCEB
- OPP Community Street Crime Units
- OPP Tactics and Rescue Unit
- OPP Canine
- OPP Emergency Response Team
- OPP Provincial Operations Intelligence Bureau
- Mississauga, Caledon, Toronto and 407 OPP Detachments
- OPP Highway Safety Division Highway Enforcement Team
- YRP Emergency Response Unit
- TPS Emergency Task Force
- DRPS Tactical Support Unit
- Equité Association
As a result of the joint-forces investigation, the following items were seized/recovered:
- 306 stolen vehicles, with a combined value of approximately $25 million
- Three firearms
- Various provincial licence plates
- On-board diagnostic reader
- Numerous key fobs and assorted vehicle keys
- Vehicle shipping documentation
- Other equipment including two forklifts and two tractor-trailer cabs
- More than $190,000 CAD
- More than $32,000 USD
- Electronic devices including cell phones, laptops and hard drives
Twenty individuals have been arrested and charged with 134 offences contrary to the Criminal Code, the Customs Act and the Cannabis Act, including the two individuals who fled from police on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Please see the Addendum of Charged Persons
