Six people face charges in connection with a series of violent carjackings in Mississauga and subsequent attempts to ship stolen cars overseas. (Photo: Peel Regional Police)

Six people face various charges and eight stolen luxury vehicles worth $800,000 have been recovered in the wake of a sweeping police investigation into armed carjackings in Mississauga and elsewhere in the Greater Toronto Area in which those responsible then tried to ship the cars overseas for resale.

The half dozen accused, among them one woman, face a total of 30 charges and two were arrested at Toronto Pearson Airport as they tried to leave the country for Ghana, police brass said at a press conference Monday afternoon at Peel Regional Police headquarters in Mississauga.

“Investigators from the Central Robbery Bureau have recovered eight vehicles before they were resold or shipped overseas following an investigation into violent, armed carjacking incidents,” Peel police said, adding in a number of cases people were confronted and dragged from their vehicles as they left grocery stores or other locations.

Between Jan. 18 and Feb. 1, police received reports of several violent armed carjackings across the region and throughout the GTA. The culprits appeared to target high-end vehicles, primarily various models of Mercedes-Benz, investigators said.

As part of an extensive investigation known as Project Stratis, officers determined a number people were not only carrying out the robberies, but also “arranging for the stolen vehicles to be re-vinned and resold or shipped overseas to Ghana,” police said.

Toronto Police, Ontario Provincial Police and the Canada Border Services Agency also took part in the wide-ranging probe, Peel police said.

As the investigation moved along, officers executed several search warrants that led to eight vehicles being recovered and two replica firearms being seized. The stolen vehicles were located in storage lockers, an auto body shop and overseas shipping containers.

Facing various charges are:

Rainer Fernando, 37, of Toronto.
Steven Walsom-Gerigs, 36, of Mount Forest.
Matthew Hymers, 21, of Listowel.
Bradley Walsom, 38, of Brampton.
Steven (Gisselle) Lopez, 22, of Toronto.
Samson Igbasan, 20, of Toronto.


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