Police have dismantled a major international auto theft ring based in the Windsor area.
Police announced Thursday that a 16-month long investigation called Project FAIRFIELD has resulted in the arrest of 23 people who are facing 279 charges, including 13 people from Windsor-Essex who are facing 183 of the total charges.
In all, 138 stolen vehicles have been recovered, including luxury vehicles, newer model pick-up trucks and SUVs, worth over $9-million.
Investigators say 70 per cent of the vehicles were stolen from the Windsor area while the rest were taken from places like Peel Region, York Region and Toronto.
Many of the vehicles were being exported through the Port of Montreal and the Port of Halifax to other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Republic of Columbia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
OPP Detective Inspector Andy Bradford speaks during a news conference in Windsor about Project FAIRFIELD, a joint police investigation into an international auto theft ring based in the Windsor area. Aug. 3, 2023. (Photo: Rusty Thomson)
OPP Detective Inspector Andy Bradford says this was a very organized and structured group that took active steps to avoid police detection.
"The importance is that, short-term enforcement unfortunately, the group can be back at it in a hurry," he says. "In this case, we feel we've dismantled the crime group and there will be a significant, positive impact for the public. Investigations like this will act as a deterrent to others."
In addition, the accused were alledgely fraudulently modifying stolen vehicles' identification numbers (VINs) to later sell them through private sales, in a process known as "re-vinning."
Police say the proceeds from the stolen vehicles were also being used to fund drug trafficking efforts.
Detective Inspector Bradford says in December of 2022, investigators stopped a known stolen, "re-vinned" vehicle near Kingston and seized nearly 15,000 synthetic opioids tablets.
"The substances seized in this case were pressed into counterfeit prescription pills made to look like oxycodone products," he says. "The substance itself can be up to 100 times more potent than oxycodone itself or as another reference, up to two times that of fentynal, so a significant risk to public safety."
In all, investigators seized a large quantity of illicit drugs during the course of the investigation with a estimated street value of $506,000.
The drugs seized also included 1,050 methamphetamine tablets, 4.9 pounds of cannabis, 1.1 pounds of cannabis concentrate, and 320 grams of cocaine.
Police also seized $144,635 in Canadian currency and $26,698 United States currency.
Project FAIRFIELD was initiated by Windsor Police Service in April 2022 and joined by the Ontario Provincial Police Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau West in September 2022. The investigation also included the Canada Border Services Agency, the London Police Service, the Peel Regional Police and Équité Association.
A graphic showing the scope of Project FAIRFIELD, a joint police force investigation into an international auto theft ring based in the Windsor area. Aug. 3, 2023. (Photo: Ontario Provincial Police)