Three teens face charges in connection to the theft of approximately 50 vehicles in southern Ontario.
Niagara Regional Police said they started an investigation after a 2024 Lincoln was reported stolen in Niagara on April 20. The vehicle was then recovered, police said.
The investigation found that thieves were using electronic devices to track, locate and steal primarily Lexus and Toyota vehicles from residential areas, police said.
Police said these stolen vehicles were then transported out of Niagara to the Hamilton area. The factory-installed tracking devices were disabled.
The vehicles were taken to a location in Hamilton, loaded onto a transport truck, and moved to Montreal, police said. There, the vehicles were placed in shipping containers, loaded onto cargo ships, and transported to a major seaport in Iraq.
Police said the investigation involved approximately 50 stolen vehicles across Niagara and the Greater Toronto Area.
On May 29, investigators executed five …