Seven charged after alleged syndicate stole Toyotas in Brisbane for export to UAE

Queensland police announced on Wednesday that seven men have been charged with more than 300 offences after an international-based crime syndicate allegedly stole dozens of Toyota vehicles, including LandCruisers and Prados, from the Brisbane region with the intention of sending them to the United Arab Emirates in shipping containers.

Police said detectives and the major and organised crime squad Brisbane (MOCSB), supported by the Australian federal police and the border force, established an incident centre after an increase in car thefts. They allege a group of foreign nationals flew into Brisbane in October and carried out an organised operation to steal specific Toyota models.

Between 20 October and 1 December the syndicate allegedly stole 60 cars across the Brisbane region and sent shipping containers with whole vehicles to the UAE for profit, police alleged. On 2 December two allegedly stolen LandCruisers were seen being brought into a wrecking yard in Brisbane’s south; a crime scene was declared and officers found a shipping container containing the two cars hidden behind a facade of disassembled vehicle parts.

Over the following weeks police located another six shipping containers across Brisbane and Melbourne and have recovered 15 of the allegedly stolen vehicles. The seven men, aged between 28 and 45, have been charged with offences including stealing and attempted stealing and are due to separately appear in Brisbane magistrates court on 12, 14 and 27 January.

Key Topics

World, Toyota, Brisbane, United Arab Emirates, Queensland Police, Landcruiser