The organized gangs running a billion-dollar industry stealing cars from the US to ship to Africa - with hundreds found stashed in containers on the East Coast and a theft EVERY SIX MINUTES threatening a 'national crisis' in Canada
- Hundreds of vehicles were intercepted at US ports in 2023 and the number is on the rise
- Canadian investigators have uncovered the fate of stolen cars as they are found sitting in lots in Africa
- Social media accounts show what happens once they arrive in places like Ghana and Nigeria
Cars with foreign plates have been showing up in Africa in staggering numbers, with the majority hailing from Canada and the United States.
A whopping 80 percent of stolen vehicles in Canada are said to leave the country's ports and most end up in countries like Ghana.
Authorities have also noticed an increase in the number of stolen cars departing the United States for West Africa. An ongoing investigation has seized cars at major shipping ports like New Jersey and Baltimore.
In August, Homeland Security said it had already seized about 300 stolen vehicles at the Port of Newark this year, marking a a 32 percent increase from last year.
Many vehicles are carjacked, a process that is becoming easier with push-to-start technology. Syndicates will retag a stolen car by altering its Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, a unique serial number.
The international gangs may then obtain a counterfeit Certificate of Title, which serves as the official proof of ownership, to match the new VIN. The cars are then sold to people who will ship them overseas.
Some gangs may use the sale of these vehicles to fuel other crimes like money laundering and the purchase of drugs.
![Stolen vehicles are crudely packed into shipping containers on their way to Africa. An Instagram story from a dealership in Nigeria shows sedans stacked one on top of the other](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/13/13/75265183-12489007-Stolen_vehicles_are_crudely_packed_into_shipping_containers_on_t-a-7_1694609550118.jpg)
Stolen vehicles are crudely packed into shipping containers on their way to Africa. An Instagram story from a dealership in Nigeria shows sedans stacked one on top of the other
![An ABC investigation found stolen cars crammed into shipping containers, covered with mattresses and other pieces of cargo](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/13/13/75186581-12489007-An_ABC_investigation_found_stolen_cars_crammed_into_shipping_con-a-8_1694609552073.jpg)
An ABC investigation found stolen cars crammed into shipping containers, covered with mattresses and other pieces of cargo
![A TikTok video shows a white car being rolled out of a storage container. The car appears to belong to Lauzon Driving School in Canada and is even stamped with their phone number](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/10/13/75265193-12489007-A_TikTok_video_shows_a_white_car_being_rolled_out_of_a_storage_c-a-15_1694348114567.jpg)
A TikTok video shows a white car being rolled out of a storage container. The car appears to belong to Lauzon Driving School in Canada and is even stamped with their phone number
![Cars on the @dpgglowauto Instagram account hail from luxury brands like Lexus and Mercedes Benz and can be seen with license plates from Michigan](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/12/21/75265191-12489007-A_Lexus_sedan_with_a_Minnesota_license_plate_was_posted_to_the_d-m-36_1694549866938.jpg)
Cars on the @dpgglowauto Instagram account hail from luxury brands like Lexus and Mercedes Benz and can be seen with license plates from Michigan
![A Florida plate appears in several photos on Instagram, used as a prop on different cars](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/12/21/75265189-12489007-image-a-37_1694549919304.jpg)
A Florida plate appears in several photos on Instagram, used as a prop on different cars
Customs and Border Protection Officer Dean Panzarino showed Eyewitness News how thieves packed cars into shipping containers, padding them with mattresses and tying chains to the wheels to suspend them in midair. Some had been disassembled to be put back together in Africa.
An estimated 10 percent of stolen cars in the United States are believed to end up overseas. HSI agents look at anomalies in trends relating to imports and exports and often conduct random searches.
'No, this is something that I just targeted cold,' Panzarino said when asked if he knew who the smugglers were. 'I believe these will end up being a seizure.'
Those cars may have been intercepted but other times are not so lucky.
Social media accounts show the fate of vehicles sent to places like Nigeria. Some have US plates still attached. Others are marketed as 'foreign used,' a term indicating that they may have been stolen and sent abroad.
A TikTok account advertising DPG Glow Auto, a dealership in Onitsha, shows cars with foreign license plates and decals being rolled out of shipping containers.
One, a white Toyota Corolla labeled as 'foreign used,' is emblazoned with a logo from Lauzon Driving School in Canada.
The windows are rolled down and the sunroof seems to have been punched in and covered with a piece of cardboard. The car is brimming with what appear to be packages.
The comment section is rife with remarks reading 'Straight out of Quebec' and 'Stolen car from Canada'.
License plates from California, Minnesota, Texas and Florida can be seen in Instagram photos from the dealership. The same Florida plate is used on different cars in multiple photos.
An Instagram highlight shows two sedans stacked atop each other in a shipping crate.
Other videos show vehicles being unloaded out of the containers using crudely constructed wooden ramps.
The cars are often older models of luxury brands like Lexus and Land Rover as well as the odd family SUV.
!['Foreign used' may act as a buzzword indicating that a car is stolen, seen here on the marketplace Jiji](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/09/12/17/75343879-12489007-image-m-20_1694536938116.jpg)
'Foreign used' may act as a buzzword indicating that a car is stolen, seen here on the marketplace Jiji
Even on Jiji, an African online marketplace, cars are being sold under the 'foreign used' label, especially more luxurious brands.
A common name is Brabus, a German aftermarket tuning company that specializes in Mercedes Benz vehicles.
One of the 'foreign used' Brabus cars was a 2014 model being sold for 67.5million Nigerian Naira, roughly $86,000 USD.
An investigation by CBC identified dozens of vehicles that wound up in Ghana after they were stolen from Ontario and Quebec. Most had their registration and insurance documents still in the glove box.
Journalists discovered a vehicle belonging to Toronto man Len Green and called him upon finding a certificate with his phone number.
'I'm pretty sure I'm sitting in your once-stolen vehicle in West Africa,' the reporter said.
'No way,' Green said. He recounted his wife's shock upon finding that the car had gone missing from their driveway.
Ring footage captured the moment a car pulled up to his house around 3am. Two men got out and approached the Acura. A mere four minutes later, it was gone.
Det.-Sgt. Mark Haywood of Peel Regional Police told the publication that a large number of stolen cars were leaving Canada.
'You'll see about 80 percent of them going out through the ports,' he said.
In 2022, Toronto native Ahmad Abdallah was contacted by journalists from CTV News after they found his car in Lagos, Nigeria.
When he saw a video of his 2017 Toyota Highlander for sale online, Abdallah was appalled.
'There should be more people looking into it…we’re talking millions of dollars,' he said. 'This has to be taken seriously.'
Vehicle theft is an ongoing problem is the United States as well.
In May, the US Embassy in Ghana tweeted that it had seized over 100 cars stolen from the US and Canada.
Ghana's Economic and Organised Crime Office was said to be working alongside the FBI and US Department of State International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.
There have also been efforts to prevent cars from leaving the United States in the first place.
On February 13, US Customs and Border Protection began 'Operation Terminus' to detect and recover stolen vehicles at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The five-day operation came to an end on February 17 as the agency seized 23 cars that had been crammed into shipping containers on their way to West Africa.
The cars were on their way to Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Monrovia and Liberia and had a combined estimated value of $1.33million.
Three BMWs and two Land Rovers were among the pricier items, with the most expensive - a 2022 BMW X 5M - priced at $102,995.
Make/model | Generation | # of vehicles insured | # of thefts | Theft % (per cars insured) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Honda CR-V | 2016-2021 | 236,555 | 4,117 | 1.7% |
Lexus RX Series | 2016-2021 | 34,560 | 2,202 | 6.4% |
Ford F150 Series | 2015-2020 | 292,127 | 1,182 | 0.4% |
Honda Civic | 2016-2021 | 263,958 | 768 | 0.3% |
Toyota Highlander | 2013-2019 | 64,893 | 748 | 1.2% |
Ram 1500 Series | 2011-2018 | 295,341 | 509 | 0.2% |
Chevrolet/GMC Silverado/Sierra 1500 | 1999-2006 | 71,078 | 410 | 0.6% |
Honda Accord | 2018-2021 | 28,692 | 372 | 1.3% |
Jeep Grand Cherokee | 2011-2020 | 85,528 | 346 | 0.4% |
Toyota RAV4 | 2013-2018 | 217,006 | 334 | 0.2% |
Source: Équité Association |
Équité Association, a nonprofit that investigates insurance fraud on behalf of member insurance companies, released its yearly report showing the most commonly stolen vehicles jn Canada for 2022.
President and CEO Terri O'Brien said: 'There is no doubt that vehicle theft has reached a national crisis in this country.
'We know for certain that vehicles in Canada are being stolen by domestic and international criminal organizations.'
She argued that Canada has been put in the spotlight as a source country for illegal trade.
The 2022 report exposed double-digit increases in vehicle theft in provinces where data was available.
Thefts were up 48.3 percent year over year in Ontario and 50 percent year over year in Quebec.
'The techniques the criminals are employing are constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated,” said Bryan Gast, the organization's VP of Investigative Services.
Équité Association has argued for the government to update Canada's Federal Motor Safety Regulations, as the existing laws were written in 2007, without any consideration for push button start technologies.
In a press release dated August 2023, the nonprofit called on Transport Canada to take action.
'Criminals are now taking advantage of the outdated standards,' Gast said. 'They are able to quickly and easily exploit these vulnerabilities, which has led to this significant increase in stolen vehicles across Canada.'
Équité Association recommended anti-theft devices be installed in every new vehicle. These devices should be under three years old to remain up to date with new technology.
In April, EOCO in Ghana released a list of 95 stolen vehicles that had been shipped from the US and identified the dealerships where cars had been found.
The office secured an order to freeze all the cars and demanded individuals and dealers submit all documents by May 31, or law enforcement agencies would confiscate them.
EOCO's deputy director Abdulai Bashiru Dapilah told CBC that his investigators faced threats from armed groups and begged Canada to stop the flow of vehicles before they reached Africa.
However, he added: 'No Canadian agency has approached us directly or made a formal complaint directly.'
The issue doesn't seem to be dying down any time soon, as authorities intercepted and seized 18 vehicles and a farm combine at the Port of Baltimore on September 1.
The seized vehicles had a combined estimated value of $428,306.
'One of the reasons that the Port of Baltimore is such a hot spot for stolen automobiles is our shipping routes,' Adam Rottman, area port director for the Port of Baltimore, told 11 News.
'One of the main places that stolen automobiles are headed to is West Africa, and we have a lot of shipping routes to West Africa.'