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Data released by Équité Association, a not-for-profit working to eradicate insurance crime on behalf of the Canadian property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry has released details of the topmost stolen vehicles in Canada.
The organization reveals that Honda CR-V SUV is the most stolen vehicle in Canada for a second-straight year
According to the institution, Auto thefts in 2022 reached historical highs, with Ontario increasing by 48% and Quebec up 50%, putting Canada in the spotlight internationally as a source country for illegal trade. Vehicles are being stolen by both domestic and international criminal organizations, with proceeds funding domestic drug trafficking, and international terrorism.
MyNewsGh.com reported of how two Ghanaians including a 31-year-old Ghanaian based in Toronto Canada, Samuel Owusu-Hammond, 31 and Michael Arthur Clark, 42, of Oakville have been arrested for their involvement in car theft.
The suspects, who are members of an alleged car stealing syndicate, were arrested alongside Kiryl Andrushkevich, 31, of Toronto, Laye Mamadee Kromah, 25, of Hamilton, Ala’a Ghazal, 25, of Mississauga and Alex Kabia, 52, of Toronto.
Last year, more than Forty(40) vehicles stolen from Canada were traced to Ghana in yet another attempt by the Federal Bureau of Investigations(FBI) of the USA in collaboration with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in Ghana.
Countless Canadians are losing their cars to criminal gangs that steal them and promptly ship them through mainly the Montreal Port to Africa and other parts of the world. These criminal syndicates are sending thousands of such stolen cars to Ghana to sell to unsuspecting buyers.
The daring gangs sometimes leave documents of the original owners from whom they have been stolen in tact in the cars they sell to car dealerships in Ghana, according to a CBC News report.
“Auto theft considered a ‘national crisis’ in Canada, with nearly all stolen cars exported by organized crime,” the report said.
In one intriguing incident of car theft, “a car was stolen from a Toronto driveway in less than five minutes. Months later, CBC News journalists called the owner with the stunning news that they had found this car in Ghana.
2023, Toronto police said they’re aware of 9,747 vehicles stolen in the city, including more than 3,500 stolen in 22 and 23 Divisions during the joint investigation.
The auto theft problem in our country is only getting worse,” Équité Association’s VP of Investigative Services, Bryan Gast, said in a release.
“Organized crime continues to look to Canada as a source nation for stolen vehicles where the financial reward is high and the risk of prosecution is low.”
The report reveals that Lexus RX Series vehicles are the second-most stolen vehicles in Ontario, with 1,707 thefts, and Dodge Ram 1500 pick-up trucks are next with 1,405 reported thefts. Compared to 2021’s list, 147 Ram trucks were reportedly stolen, showing a drastic jump in thefts for this kind of vehicle.
New to the list are Acura RDX SUVs, with just shy of 460 thefts reported in 2022.
The top 10 most stolen vehicle types — including the make, model, and vehicle type – last year in Ontario are as follows:
- Honda CR-V (2020), SUV, 2,684 thefts
2. Lexus RX Series (2020), SUV, 1,707 thefts
3. Dodge RAM 1500 Series (2022), Truck, 1,405 thefts
4. Toyota Highlander (2021), SUV, 1,344 thefts
5. Land Rover Range Rover (2020), SUV, 1,225 thefts
6. Ford F150 Series (2020), SUV, 1,225 thefts
7. Jeep Grand Cherokee (2021), SUV, 766 thefts
8. Jeep Wrangler (2021), SUV, 689 thefts
9. Honda Civic (2019), Sedan, 630 thefts
10. Acura RDX (2021), SUV, 459 thefts
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