A Toronto man had his SUV stolen for a second time, and despite the fact that the person had two AirTags secreted within it, they didn’t assist him get well the car. Nevertheless, he did get to observe on the Discover My app because the car took a leisurely journey to Dubai.
As reported by Canada’s CBC Information, Andrew, whose full identify has been withheld for privateness, had his first SUV stolen from his dwelling in Toronto in Might 2023. Following the following buy of a 2022 GMC Yukon XL, he secreted two, depend ’em two, AirTags contained in the SUV.
Nevertheless, after coming back from an August 2023 trip, thieves hijacked that car. However no worry, he had two AirTags within the car, police discovered it simply, arrested the perpetrators and all was properly once more, proper? Proper?
Effectively…
Andrew contacted police, gave them his AirTag data, then sat again and watched as his Yukon XL made the circuit across the metropolis of Toronto, ultimately ending up in a railway yard.
Whereas police have been in a position to monitor the SUV to a particular delivery container in a railway yard, they claimed they didn’t have the authority to open the delivery container, referring Andrew to the railway yard’s personal safety workforce, who reportedly did nothing to help in recovering the car.
The SUV continued to see the world, because it made its approach by way of prepare to the Port of Montreal, the place it boarded a cargo ship. Andrew misplaced monitor of his SUV as soon as the ship left the port, because the AirTags stopped reporting the placement of the Yukon. That is possible as a result of AirTag’s not getting access to an iPhone related to the web.
Nevertheless, in early September, Andrew lastly noticed an replace on the SUV’s location, which turned out to be an Antwerp, Belgium delivery port. It seems that wasn’t the car’s closing vacation spot, although. It was truly headed to a location that was a bit hotter and a bit extra sandy.
The car lastly got here to relaxation within the United Arab Emirates, greater than 6,800 miles (11,000km) away from Toronto. A personal investigator despatched Andrew a photograph of his SUV, which was up on the market in a Dubai used automotive lot.
On the time of this writing, the automotive stays on the used automotive lot — no phrase on the asking value.
“We’ve executed every thing we probably can save going over there and making an attempt to take it again ourselves,” Andrew stated in an interview. “I need my truck again.”
As CBC notes, Canada is at present within the throes of an auto theft epidemic. In the meantime, Andrew’s AirTag-equipped Yukon XL gave Canadian police a uncommon have a look at the delivery route utilized by thieves to “export” stolen automobiles.
This newest report echoes two comparable tales we reported on in June 2022. Within the first, a Toronto man had his Vary Rover stolen with three AirTags hidden inside. The thieves discovered a single “decoy” AirTag however missed the opposite two, and the story had a cheerful ending, because the proprietor was ready to make use of Discover My to find his car to an industrial location in Scarborough on the east facet of Toronto, the place police have been in a position to get well it.
Nevertheless, a number of months earlier than that, the Toronto Star’s Chief Investigative Reporter, Kevin Donovan, had his Toyota Highlander stolen from his driveway (Apple Information+). No AirTags have been concerned, however police did ultimately monitor the car to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the place it was present in a large container ship with 29 different automobiles — additionally destined for Dubai.
The Canada Border Companies Company (CBSA) says it recovered 1,806 stolen automobiles in 2023, a powerful 34 % improve from 2022.
Canadian police are usually not the one police power coping with a rash of automotive thefts. In November, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser launched a program handy out AirTag to residents of vehicle theft-prone D.C. neighborhoods, with the hope of the AirTags and the Discover My App helping in finding stolen automobiles. This adopted the announcement of an identical program in Might by New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams.
Police departments across the US have been vocal in urging customers of AirTags and different monitoring tiles to not bodily pursue or confront unhealthy guys by monitoring a stolen merchandise by way of the tracker, because it may end in harm and even demise.