Why is Montreal a stolen car export hub? Jurisdiction limits and size, officials say
CTV
A police operation into stolen vehicles showed how Canada’s second-largest port in Montreal has become a key transport hub for stolen vehicle exports. Police say that's because of the port's strategic location and large container volume.
Between mid-December and the end of March, police inspected about 400 shipping containers at the Port of Montreal and found nearly 600 stolen vehicles, most of them from the Toronto area.
The operation showed how Canada’s second-largest port has become a key transport hub for stolen vehicle exports. Police say that's because of the port's strategic location and large container volume. And while authorities say they are doing what they can to stop the scourge of auto theft, experts say jurisdictional limitations, a lack of personnel, and organized crime are standing in the way.
"It's a very large port," said Bryan Gast, vice-president of investigative services at Équité Association, an anti-crime organization composed of insurance companies. With rail and road links to the Greater Toronto Area — where many vehicles are stolen — Montreal's port is "conveniently located" for criminals.
A Ontario Provincial Police investigator for more than 20 years, Gast said stolen vehicles are packed in shipping containers in the Toronto area, given falsified paperwork, including customs declarations stating the cargo is legitimate, and then shipped to the port by rail or truck.
Gast's organization participated in Project Vector, the Ontario Provincial Police-led operation at the port that recovered 598 stolen vehicles between December and March.
Aside from its location, the sheer volume of merchandise moving through the port is exploited by criminals. Last year, around 1.7 million containers transited through the Port of Montreal, including 70 per cent of Canada's legal vehicle exports, according to port authorities. That's around a million more containers than Canada's next two largest East Coast ports combined.
Car thieves, Gast said, "can intermingle their containers that contain these stolen vehicles in among the trade that's legally flowing out of Canada."
