Mississauga, Ontario — Four men have been charged in a ‘steal-and-dismantle scheme’ at a Mississauga auto shop that saw multiple stolen luxury vehicles being stripped for parts, according to a recent report from local news source, Insauga.
The scheme specifically involved suspects stealing numerous luxury vehicles, stripping them down for valuable parts and then selling the parts for cash.
Commercial auto crime cops with the Peel Regional Police said the alleged criminal operation came to light on April 9th when police followed a newer model Mercedes-Benz that had been stolen from a Brampton shopping plaza.
Insuaga further noted that “investigators ‘quickly tracked the vehicle’ to an auto shop on Netherhart Road near Pearson airport.”
Here, police then found “other high-end stolen vehicles which were in the process of being dismantled and destroyed.”
In total, eight stolen vehicles were found worth a total of $225,000. The vehicles “were being stripped of valuable parts and the remainder of the vehicle’s body was being sent to a local metal recycling facility. The vehicle parts would then be sold for a profit,” police said.
On April 10th, a search warrant executed at the auto repair garage uncovered more car parts and equipment used for dismantling.
The four men arrested, Raynor Bucknor, Washburn Ellott, Kevin Thomas and Steven Uka, were arrested and each now face 18 charges related to theft of a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime, tampering/altering/defacing VIN and mischief over $5,000.
