6 arrested, 5 remain at large in auto theft ring that operated around Toronto Pearson Airport: police

Peel police have arrested six people and issued arrest warrants for five more suspects who are allegedly part of a Quebec theft ring responsible for stealing more than 100 vehicles in and around Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Peel police have arrested six people and issued arrest warrants for five more suspects who are allegedly part of a Quebec theft ring responsible for stealing more than 100 vehicles in and around Toronto Pearson International Airport.

On Friday, police announced the results of its investigation into the “well-coordinated” theft ring dubbed “Project Tallahassee.”

It began in July when the Airport Division Criminal Investigation Bureau “identified, mapped and analyzed crime patterns,” which led investigators to believe that a car theft ring was operating around the airport and targeting 2022 to 2024 Lexus SUVs, Toyota Tundras, Sequoias, Highlanders and Ram trucks.

“By leveraging advanced statistical data and crime trend analysis, they identified specific methods and tactics used by the thieves, their inner workings, and the routes they were using into and out of the airport area,” said Peel police, who collaborated with a number of forces and agencies, including the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and Canada Border Services Agency.

Officers conducted an operation between August and November that resulted in the arrest of six suspects. Police said they also executed several search warrants in Toronto that led to the seizure of computer programmers, master keys and signal-jamming devices.

They also recovered stolen vehicles worth almost $4 million.