WARMINGTON: Nice to see victim of crime turn tables on car thief

Article content

They best way to ruin a car thief’s day is for the person who had their car stolen to steal it back.

Article content

It’s always nice to see victims of crime turn the tables on the criminals.

Article content

Aman Sidhu did something last week that law enforcement and government have not been able to do – he found a way to slow down the billion-dollar international auto stealing industry and located his own stolen truck – before it was sold to someone who didn’t work hard to own it like he did.

And he did it without any help from taxpayers.

The Brampton man used technology against the bad guys, turning the tables on a lucrative crime racket that has had its way with the GTA – 34 vehicles are stolen on average per day in Toronto alone.

In 2023, Toronto saw 12,000 vehicles stolen – a 25% jump over the year previous and 50% higher than prior to the pandemic years.

Article content

Article content

Most stolen vehicles end up in shipping containers headed to other parts of the world while Canadians see their car insurance premiums skyrocket to record highs.

But not Sidhu’s.

He managed to get his beautiful truck back before it was sold to someone who didn’t pay thousands for it like he did.

I heard about this story when top investigative reporter for CTV Jon Woodward was on the air with Newstalk 1010 radio host and Toronto Sun columnist Jerry Agar on Friday and I knew right away this was something that could turn the tide on the car-theft epidemic.

And it was Sidhu who provided that glimmer of hope with his innovative thinking and planning ahead for what could happen.

We have seen many videos of people quickly getting around the computers on cars to get the doors open and engine started to rapidly remove a high-value car from a driveway or even violent armed carjackings. The car thieves were also able to go into these vehicles, locate the factory-installed tracking devices and remove them.

Article content

The criminals were winning this game by a landslide.

Yes, we have seen pressure from politicians and police who have started to find ways to intercept more stolen vehicles before they get loaded onto ships headed for the other side of the world. They have also made some arrests of people allegedly involved in theft operations, but they all seem to get bail right away.

Credit is due to police, who have responded the best they can to this growing illegal enterprise running rampant in the GTA. But their increased efforts have not yet had a major impact on the theft numbers. The criminals simply adjust.

Article content

But now the victims are adjusting, too.

What Sidhu came up with could be a game changer. In addition to the factory-installed GPS, he also installed his own tracking device in his pickup truck.

So when his app notified him that his car was on the move, suddenly the advantage shifted from the thief to the victim.

While they were able to disable the factory tracker, his beacon was loud and clear and he was able to drive into Toronto to find his truck in a parking lot behind a building – known in the organized crime world as a cooling off zone.

Usually, thieves let a stolen vehicle sit parked for a day or two until there is no heat on it, then they spirit it away to a shipping container.

The police are sometimes able to put a sting on these parked cars, but they can’t keep up with all of them when there are dozens of vehicles stolen every day.

Article content

Sidhu simply drove up to his truck – its engine still warm from being taken within the previous hour – and phoned the police.

I teased him that perhaps he should get into the business of secondary AirTag-style tracking device sales and installation, but we all know the crime world is resilient and will come up with some way to keep this cash cow going.

In the meantime, it’s just nice to see the good guys win a round for a change.

No arrest have been made so far.

But it sure would be good to see the look on the thief’s face when they realized the vehicle they took had been stolen back.

[email protected]

Article content