5 men charged in Alberta auto theft, fraud ring involving old RCMP vehicles

Five men have been charged following a multi-year Alberta RCMP investigation into an alleged automotive fraud and vehicle theft ring that police say operated across Canada and overseas.

The Alberta RCMP Auto Theft Unit said the investigation began in June 2024, after police identified a person they believed was heavily involved in driving auto theft in the province.

Over the next two years, investigators identified a network of people allegedly involved in vehicle theft, re-VINing vehicles, reselling vehicles across Canada, exporting stolen vehicles overseas and insurance fraud.

Several investigations grew out of the initial probe, including one involving hundreds of decommissioned RCMP vehicles that were supposed to be destroyed.

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Beginning in spring 2025, the federal government’s GC Surplus program entered into contracts with Penny Metal Recycling in northwest Edmonton to dispose of 950 decommissioned RCMP vehicles.

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RCMP said there was no indication when the contracts were awarded that the vehicles would be handled contrary to the terms of the agreements.

But last November, investigators discovered an alleged crime group had potentially received hundreds of government vehicles that were supposed to be salvaged.

Instead, police said the vehicles were resold within Canada or exported.

RCMP said an employee of Penny Metal committed fraud to make it appear the vehicles had been destroyed, when they were actually being resold.

Police said that person was connected to the larger organized crime group under investigation.

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Between December 2025 and March 2026, police executed multiple search warrants and said they obtained evidence supporting allegations of fraud, vehicle theft and re-VINing. Several stolen vehicles were recovered.

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Investigators also seized more than four million illegal cigarettes, which RCMP valued at more than $1 million on the illicit market.

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Police said the cigarettes had a legitimate value of $3.7 million and represented about $400,000 in deferred taxes.

Excluding the government vehicles, investigators connected more than 80 stolen, fraudulently obtained or illegally exported vehicles to the alleged criminal enterprise.

RCMP estimated those vehicles were worth approximately $6 million.

Staff Sgt. Luke Halvorson said RCMP have seen a change in how stolen vehicles are being used, with more being shipped overseas or given fraudulent vehicle identification numbers.

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“Historically, Alberta has been a province that sees auto crime used as a conveyance — so thieves will steal it to get to point A to point B or to commit another crime,” Halvorson said at a news conference.

But now, police say fewer stolen vehicles are being recovered, leading investigators to believe they’re being shipped out of Canada.

Police said the person who initially prompted the investigation was heavily involved in organized crime in Canada for more than a decade, but died “as a result of criminality” before charges could be laid.

RCMP did not reveal the person’s identity on Wednesday.

Investigators had intended to lay a number of charges against that person, including possession of property obtained by crime, smuggling, trafficking stolen property, fraudulent concealment, fraud over $5,000, money laundering and theft over $5,000.

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Five other people have been arrested and charged.

“This group was responsible for driving a significant portion of the market for stolen vehicles in Alberta over the past several years, impacting insurance rates across the province and causing significant harm to our communities,” Halvorson said in a RCMP release.

Halvorson said removing the accused from the streets would have a positive impact on communities and deal “a significant blow to the criminal enterprises they supported through their activities.”

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Mohamed Mark Hajar, 41, of Edmonton faces 11 counts of trafficking in property obtained by crime and eight counts of smuggling under the Customs Act. He is set to appear in court Nov. 16.

Peter Huy Nguyen, 41, of Edmonton is charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and is scheduled to appear in Alberta Court of Justice in Edmonton on Nov. 16.

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Jamal Andy Ghnaim, 34, of St. Albert is charged with theft over $5,000, obtaining property under a false pretence, trafficking in property obtained by crime and fraud over $5,000.

Ghassan Fayad, 47, and Hamzee Fayad, 41, both of Edmonton, are each charged with possession of unstamped tobacco. Both have been released from custody and are to appear in court at a later date.

The investigation involved the several policing agencies including several different RCMP departments, the Edmonton Police Service, and the Canada Border Services Agency.