Hamilton police conduct search warrants in ongoing auto theft investigation

Hamilton police conducted a number of search warrants Tuesday morning as part of a car smuggling investigation dubbed Project Polar Bear.

Nine searches were carried out in Hamilton, Niagara Region, Halton Region and Haldimand County.

According to a police spokesperson, the searches focused on an alleged vehicle exporting facility located at 5207 Kalar Rd. in Niagara Falls.

Over 150 officers from Hamilton, Niagara, Halton and provincial police services were involved in the investigation.

Hamilton police say officers were pulling stolen cars from storage cans Tuesday and will continue Wednesday.

The details on how many cars and the type of cars have not been made available yet.

Multiple projects have been launched targeting these crimes including Halton region’s “Project Ninja” last year.

Auto-theft has been going up in many areas in recent years, with Halton police saying four common ways vehicles are being stolen and re-sold are through reprogramming, re-VINing, break-and-enters and carjacking.

According to data provided by police, less than 10 per cent of auto-theft cases in Hamilton have been cleared between 2019 and 2023.

Over 2,200 stolen vehicles were recovered in 2024, and this year so far there have already been 140.

In 2023 there were over 1,800 auto-theft crimes reported compared to the around 1,600 the year before that.

Hamilton police are scheduled to discuss this auto theft case during a news conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Hamilton Police have conducted a number of warrants this morning as part of an ongoing project. In addition to #HamOnt, warrants were also executed in Niagara Region. @NiagRegPolice

— Hamilton Police (@HamiltonPolice) February 18, 2025

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