revealed is rife with violence and forged collision reports for insurance fraud. Det. Insp. Wade said there is a definite link between the car thefts and the towing industry, which is why his specialized unit has been tasked with cracking down on both.
Between 2014 and 2021, the OPP says there was a 72 per cent increase in vehicle thefts across the province. In 2022, they saw another 14 per cent jump. And after just the first six months of this year, they were already closing in on last year’s total. The investigation began in April, 2022, when Windsor police officers noticed a spike in reports of stolen vehicles – and a sophistication to the crimes.
The OPP did not provide specific details about the thefts in Project Fairfield, saying only that the vehicles were stolen from both commercial locations and residential driveways.