A retired police officer’s vehicle stolen in Trois-Rivières, Mauricie in 2021 has been found in Cameroon.
An employee of the Trois Rivières dealership where Michel Letarte bought the Ford F-150 in question made a phone call to the Cameroonian police.
They wanted to confirm that the vehicle had actually been purchased from them.
The retired police officer was surprised to learn his stolen vehicle had been found.
“I contacted the insurance company and they smiled too, but they will take the necessary steps. They are in contact with the relevant police department and will take the steps there to find out if they are recovering the vehicle to bring back here or if it is being sold there for possible confiscation and they will benefit from that. there it is theirs,” Mr Letarte explained to TVA Nouvelles.
As this is an international case, Interpol was involved in the case.
“I received a call from Cameroon asking if the vehicle being sold belonged to a name that I could not tell you as it was Mr. Letarte’s vehicle that was being returned to Cameroon,” explained Ford Technical Advisor Trois- Rivières, Jonathan Saint-Pierre.
Presumably exported through the Port of Montreal or Halifax, two hotspots monitored by the authorities.
F-150, CRV, Jeep Wrangler… Why are some models more popular?
“The global platforms for all vehicles are the same. This means that the CRV that rolls in Quebec is the same as in Cameroon, so if there is an accident in Cameroon we can easily repair it,” explained Tracking Tag Vice President Frédéric Marcantonio.
In 2022, approximately 1,100 vessels were intercepted at the Port of Montreal before setting sail.
“There is a mixed investigative team made up of 8 police forces including the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the SPVM, the RCMP… These police forces are working with the Canadian Border Service to conduct investigations related to the export component,” explained the spokeswoman for the SQ, Éloïse Cossette.
Although everything is coordinated by Interpol, the city police have a role to play.
“If there is no investigative element, the file will remain at the patrol level, but we will submit it to a national bank on a stolen vehicle register. However, if there are investigative elements, the file will be forwarded to the investigation, ”underlined the spokesman for the Trois-Rivières police, Luc Mongrain. In 2022, 75 vehicles were stolen in Trois-Rivières and this number will not decrease.
“If the F-150 is worth 80,000 [$] here, but in the selected country, they will cost between $180 and $190,000. There is an embargo in these countries. There is a limit to the number of vehicles they can import and taxes are levied,” added Mr. Marcantonio.
Michel Letarte’s F-150 is now the property of his insurer.
Desjardins replied that “everything depends on the condition of the vehicle and its residual value, but also on the cooperation of the local authorities. In general we will try to repatriate the vehicle to resell it here. Otherwise, if we have a resale partner where the vehicle can be found, we could try to resell it there,” a spokesman said.
It is difficult to estimate the number of stolen vehicle exports per year. We must not forget those that are also sold as spare parts.