Over 40 stolen vehicles traced to Ghana in 6 weeks; EOCO and FBI tackle criminal gangs
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More than Forty(40) vehicles stolen from Canada have been traced to Ghana in yet another attempt by the Federal Bureau of Investigations(FBI) of the USA in collaboration with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in Ghana.
Countless Canadians are losing their cars to criminal gangs that steal them and promptly ship them through mainly the Montreal Port to Africa and other parts of the world. These criminal syndicates are sending thousands of such stolen cars to Ghana to sell to unsuspecting buyers.
The daring gangs sometimes leave documents of the original owners from whom they have been stolen in tact in the cars they sell to car dealerships in Ghana, according to a CBC News report.
“Auto theft considered a ‘national crisis’ in Canada, with nearly all stolen cars exported by organized crime,” the report said.
In one intriguing incident of car theft, “a car was stolen from a Toronto driveway in less than five minutes. Months later, CBC News journalists called the owner with the stunning news that they had found this car in Ghana.
The call from Ghana woke Len Green at the Toronto home where his prized vehicle had been stolen a year earlier.
His documents had been left intact in the stolen car that was now being displayed for sale in Ghana.
Crackdown on car-stealing gangs in Ghana
In Ghana, the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and other state security agencies are working hard to crack down on these criminal syndicates that flood the markets with stolen cars that they still say at prevailing market prices.
The EOCO, under the leadership of COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah has been collaborating with Canadian investigators, including media houses that are shining light on the canker, to stem the tide.
“But it was in the bustling capital of Ghana where CBC News located dozens of stolen vehicles. Many had been seized by authorities, while others were found on car sales lots, in parking lots and beyond.
While driving in a motorcade with Ghana’s Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), CBC reporters witnessed a Honda CR-V with Quebec licence plates drive past. The driver quickly darted onto a side street.
Investigators surmised that the car was stolen, as that model is among the most stolen in Canada, and had only just been unloaded from a ship,” CBS News reporter David Common revealed.
The phenomenon of stolen cars being shipped to Ghana may not be stopping soon but state agencies are hard at work to minimize the crime.
