Montreal police (SPVM) say four people were taken into custody in connection with a stolen vehicle exportation ring.
Police say the charges come after they conducted a large operation in Repentigny, Saint-Jean-de-Matha, and the Montreal boroughs of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles and Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension, where officers seized 10 vehicles that had been reported stolen.
Additionally, police seized several burglary tools, stolen licence plates, and other evidence.
The search stems from an investigation that began in January, which uncovered that several high-value vehicles, such as SUVs and pickup trucks, were being stolen by a group.
After being stolen, police say the vehicles were being left for a “cooldown” period to see if the vehicles were being tracked, and if they weren’t, they’d be loaded into shipping containers. Police add, in some cases, techniques to falsify the vehicles’ identities in order to reduce the risk of seizure by customs officials were being used.
“Criminal networks attempting to export stolen vehicles are always looking to improve their methods to achieve their goals. They should remember that the SPVM and its partners are also highly agile. No matter what criminal techniques they use, they will eventually find us in their way,” said Cmmdr. Pierre-Marc Houle, head of the SPVM’s South Region Project Investigations Section, in a statement.
The SPVM arrested Éric Quenneville and Yves Desjardins, both 49. They are facing several charges, including possession and trafficking of property obtained by crime, laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of a device for the purpose of committing vehicle theft, and altering, removing, or obliterating, without lawful excuse, the identification number of a motor vehicle.
The allegations against them have not been tested in court.
Two men aged 50 and 55 were also taken into custody. They are expected to appear in court at a later time.
