Halton Police Seizes $2.1M worth of allegedly stolen cars headed for Dubai

35 automobiles have been confiscated by police west of Toronto, according to them, after they were allegedly stolen from all across the Greater Toronto Area and packed into containers bound for Dubai.

Halton police claimed they made two arrests after looking into what they called a “organized auto theft network” in a press release on Thursday. The suspects, who authorities say were trafficking the stolen automobiles out of a warehouse in Burlington, Ontario, were being watched since November, according to the investigators.

According to police, the cars were taken from several locations in the Greater Toronto Area and loaded onto shipping containers for export.

According to authorities, at least 35 stolen vehicles have been found so far, including Dodge Rams, Toyota Highlanders, Jeep Cherokees, and Range Rovers.

The police estimate the value of the seized vehicles to be $2.1 million, or roughly $60,000 each car.

Suleiman Alhamarneh, 38, and Amro Alkiswani, 27, both residents of Mississauga, were detained as a result of their inquiry, according to the police.

A total of 30 accusations against the two are being brought against them, including 14 counts of trafficking in stolen material valued at over $5,000 on each side, one offence of possession of stolen property valued at over $5,000, and possession of a car master key.

Police hailed the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) for their support in the investigation when they announced the arrests.

Halton police said they will continue to devote “substantial resources” to looking into instances in the area, despite the fact that car theft is still a problem throughout the GTA.

In the meanwhile, the police department provided a variety of suggestions to help motorists prevent their car from being stolen:

•  Park your vehicle in a locked garage

•  Block the exit of a potential target vehicle with a second vehicle parked behind it

•  Install and on-board diagnostic blocker/protector

•  Install a steering wheel lock device

•  Install an aftermarket GPS tracking device

•  Install home security cameras on the exterior of the residence

Prabhnoor Kaur