Interpol says more than 200 stolen Canadian vehicles have been recovered every week around the world since February.
International law enforcement agency says a total of more than 1,500 vehicles have been identified thanks to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s decision earlier this year to integrate the Canadian vehicle database stolen from Interpol.
The Interpol database, which collects information from 137 countries, indicates that so far this year, Canada ranks among the top ten countries in the world for stolen vehicles.
The agency says thieves are attracted by the abundance of popular models in Canada, such as SUVs and crossovers, which are often shipped to countries in the Middle East and West Africa, where they are exchanged or resold.
Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said in a statement on Wednesday that stolen vehicles represent an important source of income for transnational organized crime groups.
Mr Stock says stolen vehicles are used not only for drug trafficking, but also to finance other criminal networks.