RICHMOND HILL, Ont. -- Police say they have arrested three men in connection with the thefts of vehicles left to warm up in communities north of Toronto, and also recovered nine stolen vehicles.
York Regional Police say numerous vehicles have been stolen from driveways in Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan as their owners left them running, unlocked and unattended in their driveways.
Members of the force's auto theft unit investigated each of the incidents and determined that many of the thefts were linked to the same group of suspects.
Officers were called to a residence in Richmond Hill at about 7:30 a.m. Monday, after police say a black Range Rover Sport was stolen from a driveway while it was warming up.
Investigators located the stolen vehicle and followed it to northwest Toronto where police stopped the vehicle and arrested the men inside.
Police say those men have now been linked to at least eight other warm-up thefts in York Region.
Search warrants have been conducted in relation to the thefts and nine stolen vehicles were recovered with a value of more than $280,000.
Ramjkumar Seelochan, 56, Donald Byron, 21, and Andrew Biggs-Simpson, 25, all of Mississauga, are charged with theft of a motor vehicle, possession of property obtained by crime and possession of break-in instruments.
The investigation is ongoing.
