Auto theft ring targets luxury cars in hotel parking lots

More than 80 officers from local and national police forces today raided an international auto-theft ring based in the Montreal area.

Joyce Kemp, spokeswoman for Quebec provincial police, said the network had been under investigation since October.

Kemp said the majority of the luxury vehicles were stolen in hotel parking lots near Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.

According to police, the vehicles were stored in a barn in Saint-Isidore, a city on the South Shore of Montreal, before being placed into containers, transported to the Port of Montreal and shipped overseas.

In this case, Kemp said the cars were bound for Africa.

Police are executing 10 warrants in the Montreal region and plan to make several arrests, although Kemp would not specify how many.

At least a dozen of the vehicles have been recovered so far, and Kemp expects that number to grow.

She said the cars were mainly high-end SUVs, including Toyota 4Runners, Highlanders and Ford pickup trucks.

The operations included over 80 officers from the Sureté du Quebec, the RCMP, the Chateauguay police department and the National Port Enforcement Teams.