Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are in a grey Jeep Grand Cherokee driving around hotel parking lots in the middle of a winter night, looking for cars to steal.
asserted
Putin → drive → cars
They split up, each with their own ride, keeping in touch on the encrypted messaging app Signal.
asserted
each → split → app
“Do you guys wanna scout quickly?” Putin texts — each is using an assumed name with a distinctly political flair.
asserted
each → scout → flair
Trump fires back.
asserted
Trump → fire → ?
“Do you want me in Burlington?”
asserted
you → want → Burlington
Kim Jong Un says he’s hungry.
asserted
he → say → ?
“I guess the blue one,” Putin decides.
asserted
Putin → guess → one
They converge on a Lexus SUV at Burlington’s Sandman Hotel.
asserted
They → converge → Hotel
In the GTA and surrounding areas, a stay for one night can mean losing your car forever.
asserted
stay → surround → car
The unsuspecting victims have checked in to a hotel, for a child’s soccer tournament, a business meeting at a nearby office, a family event, or to park their vehicle and take a taxi to the airport for a vacation.
asserted
victims → check → vacation
Since 2020, police have reported more than 1,000 thefts at these locations alone — and that’s just Toronto.
asserted
that → report → locations
The GTA’s hotels, including many others in Halton and Peel Regions, typically have large parking lots with guests coming and going at all hours, which makes it difficult for hotel security to police.
asserted
security → include → hours
In May, Halton Regional Police investigated 28 car thefts from hotels in Oakville and arrested two men believed to be responsible for some of them.
uncertain
Police → investigate → them
Detectives at GTA forces say hotel car thefts are a major problem and advise drivers to park close to a light post if possible, and install anti-theft devices on their cars.
asserted
thefts → say → cars
In 2024, one investigation began when cars were disappearing from hotels in Peel and Halton.
asserted
cars → begin → Peel
Police were stymied.
asserted
Police → stymie → ?
Halton auto theft detectives took statements from hotel staff and angry car owners, who woke up at the hotel or returned from a trip to find their car gone.
asserted
car → take → trip
Police struggled to find a common clue.
asserted
Police → struggle → clue
In cases caught on video, the rear window of a high-end vehicle was shattered.
asserted
window → catch → vehicle
Thieves entered, spent about 30 minutes in the car, and then drove off in it.
asserted
Thieves → enter → it
Detectives scouring hotel video noticed the same dark grey Jeep Grand Cherokee was spotted at several hotels when a theft was reported.
asserted
theft → scour → hotels
An alert was put out.
asserted
alert → put → ?
On Jan. 6, 2025, an officer spotted the Jeep parked on The East Mall in Etobicoke.
asserted
officer → spot → Etobicoke
But the vehicle identification number visible under the windshield showed it had been stolen a few months back.
asserted
it → show → windshield
When police were sure nobody was looking, an officer slid under the car and installed a tracking device.
asserted
officer → look → device
Police decided to build a case with multiple thefts.
asserted
Police → decide → thefts
So they let the thieves keep working, a controversial move the Star has seen happen in other recent cases.
asserted
Star → let → cases
What if one of the stolen cars got into an accident and someone died?
asserted
someone → steal → accident
Police decided to take the risk, and Project Mulligan was born, a golf reference because most times the stolen vehicle was driven to a parking lot at the Mississauga Golf and Country Club.
asserted
vehicle → decide → Club
There, they would remove the GPS tracking built into the car, then drive it to another location to “cool off” for a day or two, watching to see if police or an owner showed up to collect it.
asserted
police → remove → it
As police watched the Jeep, they built a profile of its regular occupants.
asserted
they → watch → occupants
Amir Habibzai, 21, was “Vladimir Putin,” and he was on bail for the same case; they had been ordered not to communicate.
asserted
they → order → case
Each night’s prowling began at a Shoppers Drug Mart on the East Mall, next door to the building where the Jeep was first spotted.
asserted
Jeep → begin → building
Reyes arrived in the Jeep, the other men in their own vehicles, with one showing up routinely in his father’s old Mazda.
asserted
one → arrive → Mazda
When the men were away from their vehicles, police put trackers on them.
asserted
police → put → them
Once the four men had finished their planning session, they left the Shoppers in the Jeep.
asserted
they → finish → Jeep
Detectives who went through their Signal chat sessions determined that “Trump” and Habibzai (Putin) were the bosses, as they gave instructions to the other two men on “what hotels to canvas and what vehicles to steal.”
asserted
they → go → vehicles
Their theft pattern showed an affinity for several models of vehicles — Toyota Highlanders, Dodge Durangos and two models of Lexus SUV.
asserted
pattern → show → SUV
Occasionally, they would take a Dodge Ram or a Toyota Tundra.
asserted
they → take → Ram
The model years were 2024, so most vehicles had low mileage.
asserted
vehicles → have → mileage
…and 79 more, not listed.
The Aporia
