Winnipeg police, MPI shut down ‘sophisticated’ vehicle theft operation

The Winnipeg Police Service and Manitoba Public Insurance say they’ve uncovered a “sophisticated Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) cloning operation in Manitoba” that was using high-end vehicles.

In February 2024, WPS and MPI began a joint investigation after noticing that a man was using numerous people known to him to register out-of-province vehicles in order to initiate ownership of the vehicle in the Province of Manitoba.

This investigation led to the discovery that at least one vehicle had a cloned VIN, meaning that the vehicle was being registered in Manitoba had the same VIN as a vehicle of the same make, model, and colour in a different jurisdiction.

“This was a highly sophisticated operation working on many different levels. Our investigators did an incredible job piecing this together with MPI and disrupting this ring and this criminal network,” said WPS Superintendent Cam Mackid. “There’s different levels of cloning, it can be very primitive, and it can be very sophisticated. We saw various levels of cloning with the investigation.”

Trevor Wuerch, a detective with the Winnipeg Police Stolen Auto Unit, added, “There could have been a little more checks that they could have done, I think they would have actually uncovered it themselves, but because this crimes so new to Manitoba they had no idea what they should be looking for.”

Through the investigation, teams were able to analyze all the VIN and vehicle data and identified an individual who was operating across provinces using Manitoba as a pipeline to clean and “wash” high-end stolen vehicles.

“They’ve come up with a screening tool that’s much more robust so, they’ve put things in place where it will make it a lot more difficult for these criminals to conduct those sort of actions without being detected,” said Mackid.

On Feb. 22, 2024, CSAU attended a dealership and confirmed that vehicles that had been sold to them had been stolen from Ontario between Jan. 2021 and Jan. 2024, and had been given new VINs, before being presented to the dealerships. Several of the vehicles had then been sold to several customers.

Police say they have since been able to seize 17 vehicles believed to have been involved in the operation, which is believed to be worth around $1 million.

“What MPI and WPS have done here is protect Manitobans – from auto theft, from organized crime, and from future financial implications,” said Minister of Justice and Attorney General Matt Wiebe.

“I’m impressed with and grateful for the work being done to combat a serious problem in Manitoba. Auto theft claim numbers rose by 48 per cent from 2017-2023, and our government is committed to tackling this issue. Auto theft is a complex crime that requires many agencies to work together, and I see that happening here.”

On April 17, 2024, police executed search warrants at a home along St. Martin Boulevard in Winnipeg as well as a business along St. Jean Marc Road in the RM of Springfield, where they were able to find and seize equipment and materials required to alter a vehicle’s VIN.

Police say as a result of this, 23-year-old Mohamad Kasem of Winnipeg is facing 68 charges and the investigation is ongoing.