The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) recovered 392 stolen vehicles worth an estimated $28 million before they could be shipped overseas from Canadian ports, according to a FreightWaves report on the RCMP's Tuesday announcement. The recoveries occurred in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver under a yearlong anti-fraud pilot called Project NoCargo.
How Project NoCargo works
Project NoCargo began in June 2025 after investigators identified a growing export-fraud threat, FreightWaves reported. The program targets organized crime networks using stolen or manufactured identities to secure vehicle loans and insurance policies. Criminals then attempt to ship the fraudulently obtained vehicles overseas. The RCMP worked with INTERPOL Ottawa, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), FINTRAC (Canada's financial intelligence unit), and Canadian financial institutions. Border officers referred cases with potential financial-fraud risks to RCMP investigators, who reviewed those referrals for criminal activity. CBSA officers intercepted confirmed vehicles before export, the RCMP stated.
Fraud starts before vehicles reach port
According to the RCMP, INTERPOL Ottawa identified the trend during 2025, with criminal networks using compromised or fabricated personal information to purchase vehicles and obtain insurance coverage. The RCMP linked the broader increase in vehicle-finance fraud to an estimated $900 million in insurance losses last year. The release did not identify individual suspects or criminal charges, FreightWaves noted.
Border agency intercepts 1,590 vehicles in 2025
The CBSA intercepted 1,590 stolen vehicles in rail yards and ports during 2025, FreightWaves reported. The agency also created a 24-hour contact point for police seeking vehicles headed toward marine ports or intermodal facilities. CBSA stated that it acts on every referral, and it referred potential Project NoCargo cases to the RCMP for investigation.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Recovered vehicles under Project NoCargo | 392 |
| Estimated value of recovered vehicles | $28 million |
| CBSA stolen-vehicle interceptions in 2025 | 1,590 |
| Insurance losses linked to vehicle-finance fraud | $900 million |
| Cities with recoveries | Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver |
Officials: cooperation yields results
RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme called the pilot an example of coordinated enforcement:
"This initiative is helping stop the flow of Canadian cars obtained through fraud and provides law enforcement with information to identify and ultimately disrupt criminal organizations," Duheme said. "Project NoCargo is proof that cooperation will yield results."
CBSA President Erin O'Gorman said:
"Initiatives like Project NoCargo are delivering results and demonstrate the strength of coordinated intelligence and enforcement operations," O'Gorman said.
Why it matters for shippers and operators
FreightWaves noted that cargo theft and freight fraud often depend on the same weak points: stolen identities, fake paperwork, and legitimate-looking transactions. Project NoCargo shows how criminals can use those tools to turn a vehicle into export cargo before anyone catches the fraud. The report also highlighted CFCO training, which addresses the same early warning signs: identity inconsistencies, documents that appear legitimate, and transactions that move faster than verification. Catching those signals before a shipment enters the export chain gives teams a better chance to stop the loss.
The FreightWaves report also promoted upcoming industry events: the Brokerage Compliance Symposium, taking place the day before F3, covers fraud exposure, carrier liability, FMCSA rules, cargo theft, and insurance gaps; the F3 Awards Dinner will honor FreightTech100 companies, with FreightTech 25 and Shipper of Choice winners revealed live.
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