Three people are facing dozens of charges in connection with vehicle thefts at the parking lots of three GO stations in Scarborough.
Toronto police said the arrests were made at Eglinton GO station in the morning of March 16.
Two suspects attended the station’s parking lot and allegedly entered a locked motor vehicle.
Police said the suspects tried to use an automotive key-programming device to make a new key so they could steal the vehicle.
Officers who were at the station intervened and arrested the suspects. Police said a third person was taken into custody shortly after.
In a news release on Wednesday, police revealed they had linked the suspects to additional vehicle thefts in the parking lots of Guildwood GO and Rouge Hill GO stations.
The suspects have been identified as 43-year-old Raju Saydur, 27-year-old Nafees Hasan and 46-year-old Sazzad Ali—all of whom are from Toronto.
All three have been charged with possession of a break-in instrument, possession of an automobile master key, tampering with a vehicle identification number, possession of proceeds of crime $5,000, and possession of a device for the purpose of committing theft.
Saydur and Hasan are also facing 28 counts of theft of motor vehicle.
Last week, a community group raised the alarm about an uptick in vehicle thefts at the station.
Kirk O’Brien, the director of safety and crime prevention for the West Rouge Community Association, told CP24 that his group contacted Metrolinx in writing after learning 16 vehicles had been reported stolen from the Rouge Hill lot since January.
“We drafted the letter because the anxiety level is high,” he said, adding that members of his group, as well as other transit users, need to be able to feel safe and confident that they can ride and leave their vehicles and be there when they return.”
With files from CP24’s Joanna Lavoie