Police bust reveals stolen vehicles en route from Canada to Africa – with reprogrammed key fobs

This is part three of a three-part investigative series by CTV W5 into how car thieves are able to drive off with modern vehicles so easily. W5 correspondent Jon Woodward accompanied York Regional Police on a bust to find clues in one vehicle.

Scott Cresswell had a tip that there was a stolen vehicle on a north Toronto lot – a Toyota pickup allegedly bound for Africa.

But the detective with the York Regional Police Service’s Auto/Cargo Theft Unit didn’t expect their search of that lot would find more than one vehicle – or the clues inside that could shed light on how they were stolen.

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“He’s got quite a setup. It goes deep in there,” Cresswell said as he and four other officers peeled onto the gravel driveway on Rexdale Boulevard, northwest of downtown Toronto. The officers showed their search warrant to a man operating a trailer at the gate, and kept driving.

As a crew from W5 watched, the team tackled a row of locked shipping containers, first with bolt cutters on padlocks, and then grinders on reinforced locks.

Det. Scott Cresswell and a colleague from the York Regional Police Auto/Cargo Theft Unit execute a search warrant on a shipping container (CTV W5)

In one container – just household goods. But then, the second one opened showed an Acura MDX parked at the far end.

One officer ran the car’s VIN – a number that uniquely identifies a vehicle – to discover it had been reported stolen months earlier.

A member of the York Regional Police Auto/Cargo Theft Unit surveys a stolen vehicle uncovered in a bust (CTV W5)

And as darkness fell on that night in early November, the officers uncovered the Toyota they were looking for. Inside was a generic key fob.

It seemed similar to the one W5 reprogrammed as a demonstration, using a device we ordered online.

Our device created a new key fob for an SUV in CTV News’ fleet, without the existing key or any help from the vehicle’s driver. Similar devices can be seen in security video of thefts that show thieves gone with vehicles in under two minutes. Police and locksmiths have warned these devices are being used by thieves.

“We do know from previous investigations that they’re buying them on Amazon. You can buy them on eBay,” Cresswell said.

Is that what they’ve done here? I pressed a button on the key fob, which locked and unlocked the car. Then, I climbed in and tried to start the car. The engine roared to life.

“They’ve tied into the system with their programming tool and made a new key,” Cresswell said.

“Very similar to the device that we got,” I said.

“Exactly. It may even be the same brand of device that you have,” Cresswell said.

Difficult to know for sure – their device is long gone. The key would allow the overseas buyer to start the car.

W5 correspondent Jon Woodward holds a generic car key fob discovered in one of the stolen vehicles.

And it’s a very real sign that the battle against the wave of car thefts does involve reining in thieves’ use of these devices.

As part of Canada’s National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft, the federal government introduced new criminal penalties for using these devices in the commission of a theft, and also restricted some devices for sale.

But some devices, including the one that we ordered, remain apparently legal for purchase.

The North American office of the manufacturer, Autel, told us it doesn’t sell on Amazon. But the popular online retailer showcased the device for sale from a Chinese retailer, and shipped it to Canada.

• Watch the latest W5 investigations

Autel says it’s co-operating with law enforcement and looking for ways to let locksmiths keep using their devices, but locking thieves out.

The reprogramming devices are crucial tools for the dozens of interlinked theft groups that roam the GTA, which take the vehicles they steal to middlemen who typically specialize in any given country, Cresswell said.

“You have numerous theft groups, sending them to groups that are essentially the folks shopping the cars to all the people who want to traffic them overseas,” he said.

• Part one: How did thieves steal your car? Maybe with a device they ordered online
• Part two: Car security investigation: How W5 'stole' a car using a device we ordered online

The middlemen purchase a stolen vehicle for about $8,000 to $12,000, he said, and it costs about $10,000 to ship the container. But buyers will pay full price for a working car with a key, meaning there’s a major profit to be had.

The huge crime wave that resulted in some 70,000 vehicles stolen last year, with $1.5 billion in insurance losses has crested, with a drop of about 17 per cent in the first six months of 2024, according to a report by Equite Association.

The decrease in overall car theft has been accompanied by an increase in carjackings and overnight break-and-enters, Cresswell said.

In York Region, for example, there were 64 violent carjackings in 2024 – about 5 times the number in 2019. In Toronto, there were 149 carjackings as of June, which is a hike of about 86 per cent from the previous year.

W5 attempted several times by phone to reach the person operating the lot on Rexdale Boulevard, but staff didn't put us in touch.

Cresswell said he believed much of the reduction in car theft this year has to do with better interdiction at the ports in Montreal and the railyards in Toronto. He said his team’s work also plays an important role.

“This is how you hurt organized crime. You go after the money,” he said.

As for the tools, Cresswell said he recognized that there are legitimate uses, and hoped new rules or techniques could be used to keep the tools away from thieves.

“I think it could be powerful. I think it would be a good step in the right direction,” he said.

For tips on car theft, or any other story, please email Jon Woodward.