In Africa, foreign-plated cars are in huge numbers. The majority of them come from Canada or the United States.
Most stolen cars in Canada end up being shipped to countries such as Ghana.
The number of cars being stolen and taken out of the United States to West Africa has also increased. A major investigation at New Jersey and Baltimore ports has led to the seizure of cars.
Homeland Security reported in August that it has already confiscated about 300 stolen cars at the Port Newark, marking an increase of 32 percent from last year.
Push-to-start is making it easier to carjack many vehicles. The syndicates will alter the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), a unique serial code, to retag stolen cars.
To match the VIN, the international gangs can obtain a fake Certificate of Title that serves as an official proof of ownership. These cars are sold on to those who intend to ship them abroad.
The sale of vehicles by some gangs can be used to fund other criminal activities, such as money laundering or the purchase of illegal drugs.
The stolen vehicles are being crudely packaged into shipping containers and sent to Africa. Instagram post from Nigerian dealership shows stacked sedans.
ABC’s investigation revealed that stolen vehicles were crammed in shipping containers and covered with mattresses, other cargoes and pieces of furniture.
In a TikTok clip, a car is rolled from a container. It appears that the car belongs to Lauzon driving school in Canada, and even has their telephone number stamped on it.
The cars on @dpgglowauto’s Instagram account are luxury models like Lexus, Mercedes Benz, and you can see license plates for Michigan.
Dean Panzarino, Customs and Border Protection officer Dean Panzarino demonstrated to Eyewitness News the way thieves packed automobiles into shipping containers. They padded them with mattresses and tied chains to their wheels in order to suspend them mid-air. Several had been taken apart and reassembled in Africa.
Estimates suggest that 10 percent of cars stolen in the United States end up abroad. HSI agents examine anomalies and trends in imports and exported goods and conduct random searches.
Panzarino replied, “No, I don’t know who they are.” I believe that these items will be seized.
Some cars were intercepted, but others aren’t so fortunate.
The fate of the vehicles that were sent to Nigeria can be seen on social media. Others still have US license plates attached. Some are sold as “foreign-used,” indicating they were stolen and shipped abroad.
TikTok accounts advertising DPG Glow Auto in Onitsha show cars being unloaded from shipping containers with decals and foreign plates.
The logo of Lauzon Driving School, Canada, is on a white Toyota Corolla that has been labeled ‘foreign-used’.
The sunroof is covered in a cardboard piece and appears to be punched out. What appear to be boxes are piled high in the car.
There are many comments in the comment section that read ‘Straight from Quebec’ or ‘Stolen vehicle from Canada.’
Instagram pictures from the dealer show license plates from California and Minnesota as well as Texas, Florida, and Florida. In multiple Instagram photos, the same Florida license plate appears on different vehicles.
Instagram highlights show two sedans in a shipping container stacked on top of each other.
In other videos, vehicles are seen being loaded out of containers with crudely-constructed wooden ramps.
There are also some family SUVs and older luxury models like Lexus or Land Rover.
On Jiji, a popular African online market, many cars, particularly more expensive brands, are sold with the label ‘foreign-used’.
Brabus is a German tuning firm that specializes on Mercedes Benz cars.
A 2014 Brabus model was sold at 67.5million Nigerian naira (roughly $86,000USD) as a ‘foreign-used’ car.
According to a CBC investigation, dozens of stolen vehicles from Ontario and Quebec ended up in Ghana. The majority of vehicles still had the registration documents and insurance policies in their glove boxes.
A certificate with Len Green’s phone number was found by journalists who discovered the vehicle.
The reporter replied, “I am pretty certain I’m in the vehicle you once stole in West Africa.”
Green replied, “No way.” Green recalled his wife’s surprise when she discovered that their car was missing.
A car drove up to the house at 3am. Two men stepped out of the Acura and approached it. Four minutes after it left, the Acura was no more.
Det.-Sgt. Mark Haywood, of Peel Regional Police, told the magazine that many stolen vehicles were being shipped out of Canada.
He said that 80% of the ships would be leaving through ports.
CTV News journalists contacted Ahmad Abdallah, a Toronto native, in 2022 after finding his car, which was located in Lagos, Nigeria.
Abdallah became horrified when he watched a YouTube video showing his Toyota Highlander 2017 for sale.
He said, ‘More people should look into this…we are talking about millions of dollars.’ This has to be taken very seriously.
The United States is no exception. Vehicle theft continues to be a problem.
The US Embassy in Ghana announced on Twitter that they had recovered over 100 stolen cars from Canada and the US.
Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office is said to work alongside FBI and US Department of State International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.
Also, there have been attempts to stop cars leaving the United States.
US Customs and Border Protection launched ‘Operation Terminus” on February 13 to recover and detect stolen vehicles in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
On February 17, the five-day long operation ended when 23 cars were seized that had been packed into shipping containers and headed to West Africa.
These cars, which were traveling to Togo and Ghana and Burkina Faso and Monrovia, Liberia, Monrovia, and Liberia, had an estimated combined value of US$1.33 million.
The most expensive item was a BMW X 5M priced at $102,995.
Equite Association is a non-profit that investigates fraud in the insurance industry on behalf of its member companies. It has released its annual report revealing Canada’s most stolen cars for 2022.
Terri O’Brien, President and CEO of the National Automobile Theft Council (NATC), said that there is no doubt vehicle theft in Canada has become a crisis.
We know that domestic and foreign criminal groups are stealing vehicles from Canada.
She said that Canada was viewed as the source of illegal trade.
In provinces with data available, the 2022 report revealed a double-digit increase in car theft.
In Ontario, thefts increased by 48.3 percent and in Quebec they rose 50 percent.
Bryan Gast, the organization’s Vice President of Investigative Service said that the techniques criminals use are always evolving.
Equite Association argues that the Federal Motor Safety Regulations of Canada should be updated, since the laws in place were drafted back in 2007 and did not take into account the push-button start technology.
The nonprofit organization called for Transport Canada to act in a release from August 2023.
Gast stated that criminals were now exploiting the old standards. They are able quickly and easily to exploit these vulnerabilities which have led to the significant increase of stolen vehicles in Canada.
Equite Association recommends that anti-theft devices are installed on every new vehicle. The devices must be less than three years old in order to stay up-to-date with the latest technology.
In April, EOCO Ghana published a list 95 of stolen cars that were shipped from the US. The dealerships in which the vehicles had been located are also listed.
It was ordered that all cars be frozen and all dealers and individuals must submit their documents before May 31 or the law enforcement agency will seize them.
Abdulai Bashiru Dapilah, EOCO’s deputy director Abdulai Bashiru Dapilah said to CBC his investigators were threatened by armed groups. He pleaded with Canada to halt the movement of vehicles in Africa before it reached Africa.
He added that no Canadian agency had approached him directly, or filed a formal complaint.
Authorities seized 18 cars and a tractor-trailer at the Port of Baltimore in September.
Estimated value for the seized cars was $428 306
Adam Rottman told 11 News that our shipping routes are one of the main reasons why the Port of Baltimore has such high rates of stolen cars.
We have many shipping routes that go to West Africa.
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