A Service Ontario employee has been arrested and accused of obtaining VIN numbers and key codes for high-end cars in Toronto. At a news conference today police said that this employee provided the information to a locksmith who was able to make keys. The locksmith is also under arrest. The two are alleged to have been part of a large conspiracy to steal cars organized by the so-called Black Axe, a Nigerian mob. With the keys, it was fairly easy work for the ring to steal as many as 500 vehicles in the middle of the night. They were shipped out of east coast ports to Africa for re-sale. This activity has been taking place for many months across Toronto, including South Bayview neighborhoods in Midtown.
LEASIDE TOYOTA THEFTS
The explanations of how the thefts were facilitated by a government employee recalls the theft of six Toyota Highlanders from Leaside and nearby driveways in 2009. It was never explained how such a theft could have been committed. Those thefts are not part of the current arrests nor is the VIN and key code theft necessarily how those cars were taken. Nonetheless, the presence of an inside thief at Service Ontario would explain how the Toyotas were taken so quietly in the night. CBC Previous posts Nigerian news report
