Thefts in Canada: Stolen cars apparently end up in Russia

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Canada has a problem with car thieves – probably because of Russia

Thousands of cars are stolen in Canada every year. Some of the vehicles are apparently stolen specifically for export to Russia.

The car thefts in Canada apparently because of the sanctions against Russia increased rapidly. As the New York Times (NYT) reported, thousands of cars are stolen every year. Despite increased police measures, there is an increasing number of break-ins into houses just to get the keys to the vehicles. One reason for the increase in this area is a flourishing black market for Western vehicles in Russia.

Export bans by the EU and other former trading partners have cut Russia off from much of the foreign automotive market. This gap is now being filled by a criminal network that steals cars, hides them in shipping containers and smuggles them into Russia.

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According to the NYT, Interpol received a total of 4,798 reports of vehicles found in Russia that were stolen in Canada between February 2024 and July 2026. Pick-up trucks like these are apparently particularly at risk Dodge Ram, Toyota Tundra and Ford F-150. Renato Schipani, who is responsible for Interpol’s database of stolen vehicles, told the New York Times that the cars were “stolen to order.”

Interpol is apparently currently investigating, together with other law enforcement agencies, whether the vehicles stolen from Canada were part of the war against the Ukraine are used. A propaganda video circulated by the Kremlin last year showed a line of Dodge Rams in front of a massive Russian drone factory. So far the authorities have not been able to locate these vehicles.

Since a wave of car thefts broke out in Canada in 2021, authorities have introduced major police reforms and invested millions of dollars to combat this crime. Theft rates have since fallen, but stolen vehicles continue to leave the country via Canadian ports.

In August 2023, the authorities in Toronto several stolen cars safe. Their investigation led them to a transnational criminal network that exported stolen vehicles with forged documents. That’s why investigators began searching shipping containers. They realized how lucrative the trade in stolen cars had become.

Frédéric Bonsaint, a border guard official, told the NYT that his team searches around a dozen containers in the port of Montreal every week and discovers 20 to 30 stolen vehicles worth a total of up to $2 million. Similar checks would also be carried out in other ports.