Toronto police say they have recovered more than 550 stolen vehicles, worth an estimated $27 million, during an ongoing auto theft investigation that began last year.

They say the investigation, called Project Stallion, was launched in November 2022 in response to a doubling of vehicle thefts since 2019 in the Greater Toronto Area.

A total of 119 people are facing 314 criminal charges following the recovery of 556 stolen vehicles.

Police say the vehicles were all recovered in the Toronto area and many were bound for the Port of Montreal, before a planned onward shipment to lucrative, overseas car markets.

They say those arrested worked in small cells but were all connected to the wider illegal car market, and that investigators will ramp up efforts against car thefts over the coming year.