TORONTO – Police have busted a cargo trailer theft ring operating in central Ontario and have taken five people into custody.
The operation, dubbed Project Recreational Use, recovered almost $500,000 worth of trailers and vehicles in cottage country north of Toronto.
Recovered vehicles and equipment include 36 stolen cargo trailers, a truck, a motorcycle, a snowmobile, a camper and a construction trailer.
Police say the thieves ran a phoney company called Haul-All Trailers, which sold stolen cargo trailers to the public at flea markets, through buy-and-sell magazines and at motocross and snowcross events.
Forged papers were used to register the trailers and phony vehicle identification number (VIN) plates were affixed to the stolen trailers.
The five suspects, aged between 33 and 40, are from Angus, Oro-Medonte Township and Innisfil.