City police intercept six stolen trucks, SUVs set to be sold overseas

Six stolen trucks and SUVs worth a combined $485,000 and destined to be sold overseas were seized by city police officers from a west Edmonton shipping yard over the weekend.

On Saturday, police were told that a new 2024 Ram Rebel pickup truck, which was reported stolen from an Edmonton dealership earlier this year, was found parked at a shipping yard near 218 Street and 115 Avenue, police said in a Tuesday news release.

Upon arrival, members of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Targeted Response to Auto Theft Prevention (TRAP) team discovered the stolen truck along with five other new and used stolen vehicles, including a 2024 Ram 1500 Longhorn, a 2023 Ford F-150 FX4, a 2023 Ford F-150 Platinum, a 2021 Toyota Highlander and a 2019 Cadillac Escalade.

Police said the Highlander and the Escalade were both reported stolen from Calgary.

After executing a search warrant, investigators determined all six vehicles had their vehicle identification numbers changed with fraudulent numbers.

Four of the vehicles were new and stolen from dealerships, police said, with all six destined to be shipped overseas. No arrests have been made.

“Our investigation suggests that these stolen vehicles were going to be shipped and sold to customers overseas,” said Sgt. Ian Strom in the news release. “The investigation is still ongoing at this time, as we continue to try and identify the suspects involved.”

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the stolen vehicles to contact EPS at 780-423-4567. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250.