York Regional Police say they have recovered millions in stolen high-end vehicles and made nearly a dozen arrests in an ongoing auto theft investigation.
The case has links to Cambridge, with one Cambridge suspect among those arrested as well as a search warrant being executed in Cambridge as part of the investigation.
Investigators with the York Regional Police Auto Cargo Theft Unit, with assistance from the Canada Border Services Agency and Équité Association, have so far recovered more than 50 vehicles valued at more than $3 million, police said in a news release.
Eleven suspects have been charged.
Between October and January, an investigation dubbed Project Mamba uncovered a group using residential areas to store vehicles that had recently been stolen out of York Region and other parts of the GTA and southwestern Ontario, police say.
The group was targeting high-end vehicles and trafficking them with planned destinations as far away as Azerbaijan and the Republic of Georgia, according to York Regional Police.
In December and January, search warrants were executed across Ontario, including in Vaughan, Toronto, London, Cambridge and Bradford, police said.
As a result, 52 stolen vehicles were recovered, with an estimated value of $3.2 million.
In total, 11 people have been charged with 96 criminal offences, including Theft of Motor Vehicle, Traffic in Property Obtained by Crime, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime, Possession of Automobile Master Key and Possession of Break-in Instruments.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and are asking anyone with information to contact the York Regional Police Auto Cargo Theft Unit at 1-866-876- 5423, ext. 6651, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.1800222tips.com.
Police said the following suspects have been charged:
- Zain Afzal, 20, of Scarborough is charged with Theft of Motor Vehicle x 8, Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime x 9, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 15, Possess Automobile Master Key x 1, Possess Break in Instruments x 1.
- Arpan Dutta, 20, of Scarborough is charged with Theft of Motor Vehicle x 4, Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime x 4, and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 5.
- Andrey Pokrovskiy, 57, of Newmarket is charged with trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime x 8 and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 8.
- Darren Proulx, 56, of London is charged with Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime x 2, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 2, Store Ammunition Carelessly x 1, Possess Substance for Trafficking x 1, and Unlawfully Possess Substance x 1.
- Mohammad Hadi, 35, of Cambridge, Sadkoul Derman, 54, of Kitchener, and Ibrahim Tairou, 32, Kamal El Hadji Dani, 46, Shaibu Kooli, 34, and Mina Pebenito, 31, all of Toronto, are each charged with Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime x 2 and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 2.
- Sanan Abbasov, 64, of Bradford is charged with Trafficking in Property Obtained by Crime x 1 and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime x 1.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and the accused are considered innocent unless proven guilty.
