ork regional police say they’ve dismantled a stolen vehicle trafficking ring, charging four people.
Police allege the group was re-vinning the stolen vehicles before selling them. Re-vinning involves altering the vehicle identification number (VIN) before re-sale.
The probe, which started in November 2022, focused on a vehicle shop that police believed was connected to the thefts.
On December 1, police executed a search warrant at the shop, Royal Customs on Ritlin Lane in Vaughan.
A suspect’s residence was also raided.
During the searches police say they located several stolen and re-vinned vehicles, including two Range Rovers, a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a 2022 Mercedes G Wagon AMG valued at an eye-opening $350,000.
“Officers also located licence plates, re-vinning equipment, documents for changing vehicle registrations, multiple key fobs for reprogramming and three semi automatic handguns with magazines and ammunition,” police said in a release.
The following are facing a slew of charges including possession of property obtained by crime, tampering with a vehicle identification number, as well as several weapon charges:
Christian Pangan, 27, of Toronto
Kevin Abaya, 29, of Toronto
Shawn Starr, 25 of East Gwillimbury
Chrisjann Doria, 23, of Toronto
