Over the course of several weeks, a gang of foreigners stole and transported several dozen Japanese SUVs to the countries of the Middle East. They were packed into shipping containers and disguised as car parts. The nationality of the attackers was not disclosed.
Touring car thieves managed to steal 60 Toyota Land Cruisers from October 20 to December 2, 2025. After the theft, they were sent in containers to the United Arab Emirates. In early December, a series of crimes was stopped: two stolen SUVs were found driving into a landfill.
Police at the scene found out that the stolen cars had already been packed into sea containers. To prevent the Land Cruiser from being visible, they were disguised with old auto parts. Two more containers with similarly packed cars were seized a week later at the port of Brisbane, and four more containers were seized in Melbourne.
Law enforcement authorities have charged seven suspects. In particular, one of them was accused of 60 thefts and another 6 attempted thefts.
Toyota has admitted that foreign criminals in Australia are using sophisticated and expensive equipment to break into cars. The automaker has partnered with police in Victoria and Queensland to counter the attackers. One way or another, based on the results of 9 months of 2025, four out of five cars stolen in the state of Victoria were Toyotas.
