Publication date: Sep 17, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 8 min read • 10 comments Lexus vehicles stolen last spring in Metro Vancouver have been recovered by a group of thieves from Eastern Canada, using sophisticated computerized methods to create their own replica of the key fobs vehicle. The vehicles were found in a bust by the Integrated Municipal District Motor Crime Squad on May 31. Photo by Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team

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In mid-April, two people approached a 2020 Lexus RX 350 on a street in Coquitlam at 1:40 a.m.

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An individual, wearing a jacket with the hood pulled up, appeared to insert a tool into the driver’s side door lock, jiggle it and open the door. The second person, also wearing a hood, got into the SUV and drove off after about 20 minutes. Start your day with a roundup of BC-focused news and opinion delivered straight to your inbox at 7am, Monday to Friday. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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In a similar theft in late May, a white SUV was parked near a 2020 Lexus RX 350 on a street in Richmond. It was about 5:30 am. A person with a hood tied tightly around his face ran towards the Lexus. The vehicle’s lights came on as the person approached the vehicle, the person got in and immediately left. The thefts were among 22 recorded by police in Metro Vancouver over a seven-week period from mid-April to late May of newer model Lexus RX 350s, Jeep Gladiators and Jeep Wranglers, according to documents filed in provincial court. Thieves also hit Burnaby and Vancouver.

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Court documents provide an inside look at how thieves stole the high-end vehicles. Police believe it is the first example in B.C. a type of organized theft that uses advanced technology to program the key fobs by tapping into the vehicle’s computer and using specialized software. Thieves release anti-theft vehicle immobilizers using electronic techniques to steal computer information from the car and then program their own key fob. Photo by humonia/Getty Images/iStockphoto After thieves break into a vehicle, they connect to the under-dash diagnostic port and download information that allows them to program a key fob. The fob then lets them start the vehicle. Thieves use the same type of mobile devices that mechanics use to get information from the vehicle’s computer as well as software that they can load onto a laptop. The method has been used in hundreds of car thefts in the Toronto area over several years.

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“This is the first major trend of this type that we’ve seen in BC,” says Sgt. Robert Harris, who is with BC’s Integrated Municipal Provincial Motor Vehicle Crime Squad. The team has officers from the RCMP and a number of municipal police departments. In the Toronto area, thieves targeted higher-end vehicles, stealing them using the key fob computer hack, usually while people were sleeping, and then parked the vehicles somewhere for a period of relaxation. The vehicles were then loaded into containers for shipment to Montreal and overseas to Africa and the Middle East, where the cars can fetch up to double their value in Canada. Harris said they found thieves were using a similar system in B.C Lexus vehicles stolen last spring in Metro Vancouver by a group of thieves from Eastern Canada have been recovered. The vehicles were busted by the IMPACT team on May 31st. Three men plead guilty to the thefts. Photo by Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team In late May, the New Westminster Auto Crime Squad and police busted a three-man ring from Quebec and recovered seven Lexuses, some of which were already loaded into containers at a Surrey salvage yard. One of the containers had been loaded onto a transport truck that was leaving the area.

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There is no evidence that anyone at the shipyards was complicit, Harris said. Four of the seven vehicles were from New Westminster. The three men — Mohammed Bouteraa, 19, Al Rifai, 22, and Yahya Zitouni, 21 — recently pleaded guilty to car theft, possession of stolen property for the purpose of trafficking and use of a computer system with intent to commit a crime. Harris said the type of vehicles thieves have targeted in these types of theft operations include Lexus SUVs, Ford F-150 trucks, Jeeps and Range Rovers. “We suspect these vehicles have been selected for their off-road capabilities, making them more suitable for certain overseas markets,” Harris said. The three men were using a rented SUV from the Montreal area and were staying at a temporary rental home in Surrey, according to documents related to their arrest filed in provincial court.

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Court records show the Vancouver police organized crime unit was also investigating car thefts that overlapped with the investigation by the motor vehicle crime squad and New Westminster police. Vancouver police declined an interview about their car theft work.

Thieves work around authorized anti-theft devices

Car theft has declined in Canada since peaking in the mid-1990s, sharply after the federal government mandated in 2007 that vehicles built in Canada must have an immobilizer, an electronic security device in a motor vehicle that prevents the engine from starting unless the correct key is used. In Canada, the number of stolen vehicles has dropped to about 200 vehicles per 100,000 people today from just under 500 in 2007, according to data firm Statista.

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In BC, about 15,000 vehicles were stolen in 2014, but that’s down to about 10,000 by 2020, according to crime trend statistics compiled by the BC government. But in the last year, thieves have figured out how to deal with anti-theft technology in newer vehicles. Thieves have used a scheme where the signal from a key fob at a nearby location, such as a home, is amplified to start the vehicle, called relay theft. More recently, thieves have started using the method of programming their own key fobs, explained Sid Kingma, the Équité Association’s director of research services for Western Canada. The Insurance Bureau of Canada recently outsourced its investigative services to non-profit organization Équité to help fight theft and fraud.

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Kingma said the use of these methods started in Quebec and Ontario and worked their way west. A recovered Lexus stolen last spring in Metro Vancouver by a group of thieves from Eastern Canada. Photo by Integrated Municipal Provincial Auto Crime Team /jpg In the spring, Edmonton police said three Ontario men were facing charges of auto theft, possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools after stealing 40 recent push-button ignition Ford F-150s using advanced technology. to bypass truck anti-theft systems. “What we’re seeing is that fishing holes are getting overfished and criminals are starting to move to other locations like Alberta and B.C. and they’re starting to use the same kind of tactics,” Kingma observed. He noted that they target high-end vehicles, usually for export abroad, to countries like Nigeria, where the vehicles will cost up to double their value here.

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A search on a Nigerian car sales website showed a 2020 Jeep Gladiator for sale at the equivalent of $109,000 Canadian dollars and a 2021 Jeep Wrangler for $125,000. In British Columbia, the Gladiator and Wrangler will be valued between $45,000 and $60,000 depending on mileage and condition. A 2020 Lexus RX 350 in Nigeria was priced at $121,000, a vehicle that ranges from $45,000 to $60,000 in BC. Kingma said apart from profits, the vehicles provide criminal currency for other illegal activities. “We are a country of origin for stolen cars … like you have countries of origin for drugs.” In the Toronto area, police estimated the value of the hundreds of vehicles stolen in 2015 at $30 million. Toronto police have reported direct links to the carjackings to the international Black Ax organized crime group, which originates from Nigeria.

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Henry Tso, a former RCMP inspector and former…