A lengthy investigation into an alleged organized crime group believed to be responsible for trafficking stolen vehicles has resulted in charges against a number of people.

Police launched an investigation 22 months ago to crack down on the high number of auto thefts in the city.

During the investigation police identified an organized crime group that allegedly obtained stolen vehicles from car thieves and then resold them after they were re-vinned.

Police say the vehicles were obtained through a number of sources and that certain vehicles were targeted in some cases.  They say low-level thieves were given another vehicle, drugs or cash in exchange for those particular vehicles.

Many of the stolen vehicles were taken after they were left running with the keys inside or were stolen from unlocked garages

After obtaining the vehicles, the group allegedly re-vinned them and matched them up with fraudulent bills of sale, registrations and other documents to resell them to unsuspecting buyers in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Police say if the deal appears to be too good to be true it probably is.

“A new or relatively new vehicle being sold second-hand where a consumer does their due diligence and discovered that that vehicle is being sold at a number of thousands of dollars below what it should be sold at. So essentially, the carrot that is dangled is the consumer getting a deal,” said Acting Inspector Graeme Smiley of the CPS Investigative Operations Section.

Investigators say the vehicles were used to commit other crimes including; fraud, drug trafficking, trafficking in stolen property, break and enter, and thefts.

“The vehicle is staying within the criminal element. So a vehicle could be stolen by one criminal and could be moved to another criminal and essentially stay within that criminal element in order to be used to commit other crimes,” said Smiley. “Essentially what we’re seeing here is identity theft for vehicles. They are valuable commodities.”

In May last year, eight search warrants were executed on a number of properties between Calgary and Saskatoon including an auto repair shop.

Police recovered a number of stolen vehicles, licence plates, fraudulent documents and drugs.

A marijuana grow-op was also uncovered when police searched a property in the 28200 block of Township Road 224A in Rockyview County.

Police seized the following items during the investigation:

  • 39 stolen vehicles, worth approximately $1.9 million
  • A residential property located in Ogden, determined to be purchased with proceeds of crime
  • 402 fentanyl pills
  • 4.5 kilograms of marijuana
  • 17 grams of cocaine
  • 512 fraudulent Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN)
  • Other documents relating to the registration and sale of stolen vehicles

On February 14, police arrested three people who are now facing charges.
 

  1. Tyler Roger Scott, 34, of Calgary, has been charged with one count each of instructing a person to commit an indictable offence on behalf of a criminal organization, conspiring to commit an indictable offence, laundering proceeds of crime, and trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000.
  2. Tami Lee Scott, 55, of Calgary, has been charged with one count each of committing an indictable offence for the benefit of, association of, or direction of a criminal organization, and laundering proceeds of crime.
  3. Ikraam Elahi Chaudhary, 35, of Saskatoon, has been charged with one count each of committing an indictable offence for the benefit of, association of, or direction of a criminal organization, conspiring to commit an indictable offence, laundering proceeds of crime, and trafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000.

All three are scheduled to appear in court on Monday, March 18. 2019.

A warrant has been issued for Sylvain Serge Lefevre, 36, of Calgary.

He is wanted on Canada-wide warrants for rrafficking in property obtained by crime over $5,000, conspiring to commit an indictable offence and committing an indictable offence for the benefit of, association of, or direction of a criminal organization.

Lefevre is described as:

  • 175 cm of  5’9” tall
  • 64 Kg or 140 pounds
  • Brown eyes
  • Brown hair
  • Has tattoos of the word “ATTICUS” on his left forearm, a nautical star with “CARPE DIEM” on his right wrist and a chain on his left ankle.

Anyone with information about LEFEVRE’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 403-266-1234. People with information can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously through either of the following methods:

TALK:1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org