Jim Morrison Auto Sales in Elmsdale, N.S., and the Mitsubishi dealership in Halifax were among the latest victims of car theft.

The owners of Jim Morrison Auto Sales, told CTV News that two individuals came to their business in a car that was stolen from the Mitsubishi dealership and requested to test drive one of the vehicles on their lot.

Both businesses told CTV News that the individuals came to the dealership with an out of province license.

When the individuals returned to the lot with the vehicle, the person sitting in the passenger seat got out of the vehicle and drove off in the car they came to the dealership with.

Nova Scotia RCMP officers said they have since arrested two people involved in the incident, and the vehicles have returned to both businesses.

According to Halifax Regional Police, from 2018 to 2022, the number of car thefts has nearly doubled in the city.

In 2018, the number of car thefts in the municipality was 229. In 2022, that number rose to 357.

So far this year, there have been 163 cars stolen.

Experts say this is just a piece of a growing problem in the Maritimes.

“For the most part the epicenter of the stolen vehicle crisis has been Ontario and Quebec but we’ve seen it spread across the country. We’re seeing higher rates of stolen vehicles out west and Atlantic Canada,” explained Huw Williams, public affairs director of the Canadian Automobiles Dealers Association.

According to the Canadian Finance and Leasing Association’s report, a car is stolen every six minutes in Canada. The report said it is costing the country a billion dollars a year.

The RCMP said getting calls about vehicle theft has become the new normal. “We routinely get reports of vehicle theft so it can be ranging from pickup trucks, SUVs, cars, boats, trailers and when it comes down to it crimes of opportunity,” said Corporal Guillaume Tremblay, public information officer for the Nova Scotia RCMP.

Crimes of opportunity include drivers leaving their car keys in their vehicle and leaving their doors unlocked,

Williams said vehicle thefts from dealership lots is a cash cow for organized crime. “They are using the stolen vehicle market to ship these cars to Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. They’re showing up on lots around the world with Nova Scotia plates [and] Ontario plates, and more.”

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association said there needs to be a strict and coordinated approach on all levels of government to ensure that the stolen vehicles are not exported without the knowledge of border service agents. They said that until this happens, car thefts will continue to be on the rise across the country.

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