[VIDÉO] Car thefts in 60 seconds in Montreal: he gets prison time, before deportation

A car thief working for a prolific organization that roamed downtown Montreal on a daily basis has not managed to escape prison, and he will also be deported to his country of origin as soon as he is released.

“We were talking about more than one vehicle per evening, they cut the wires connected to the GPS and the radio wave system, then took the vehicles elsewhere, to check if the police would find them,” explained M^e Charles B. Côté de la Couronne, this Monday, at the Montreal courthouse.

Sitting in the dock, Oussama Addadi, 23, remained unmoved as he listened to the prosecutor recount how his group was stealing pick-ups by the bucket load in the spring of 2023.

The group mainly targeted underground hotel parking lots. A first group did some scouting and once the right make and model was found, another group arrived right after to carry out the theft.

An American tourist had her Jeep Wrangler stolen, before she even had time to pack all her luggage which contained $10,000 worth of clothes, the court was told.

60 seconds

In a video obtained by The Journal, we can also see the disconcerting ease with which these criminals steal cars, since it took them barely 60 seconds to start a Jeep vehicle and drive off with it.

The stolen vehicles were then hidden in another location, in case the police were able to find them.

“There was, among other things, an address at L’Ange-Gardien in Outaouais,” said M.^e Side.

However, the criminals were too greedy, so the police in the area began to be even more vigilant. Investigators, for their part, have redoubled their efforts to put the criminal group out of harm’s way.

They were finally intercepted by the Sûreté du Québec, during a routine stop related to road safety.

“In the vehicle, there were the stolen clothes of the American tourist, as well as license plates from vehicles stolen in Ontario,” explained the Crown.

Clément, according to the judge

Police also found a dashboard camera. And to their great surprise, they were able to find images of the journey that the thieves had taken with a stolen vehicle, from Montreal to Quebec.

“There was a higher level of amateurism than for others,” conceded M^e Side.

But if he was not the most skillful, Addadi had still committed eight pick-up thefts, as well as attempted thefts, he admitted on Monday.

Following negotiations between the Crown and M^e Ouissam Akhrif, however, escaped with 18 months of incarceration, a “lenient” sentence, according to judge Anne-Marie Manoukian.

“We took into account his special status, due to the fact that he will be deported to Morocco at the end of his sentence,” explained Mr.^e Side.

A 23-year-old co-defendant, Mohammed Saidi, was back in court on Monday, but his case was postponed because he is awaiting certain documents related to his immigration status, according to Mr.^e Akhrif. Saidi has committed to admitting certain facts, but in his case, he could avoid prison and therefore increase his chances of being able to stay in the country.