The Queensland Police Service has confirmed seven arrests and 380 charges have been filed following a flood of indictments Toyota Late last year there were thefts across Brisbane involving a suspected crime syndicate shipping vehicles overseas.
Police allege the syndicate targeted Toyota LandCruiser and Toyota Prado vehicles and stole around 60 vehicles worth about $8 million on Brisbane’s south side between October 20 and December 1, 2025.
According to authorities, the stolen vehicles were accessed via the CAN bus port, allowing thieves to take control of the vehicles and disable Toyota’s satellite tracking device.
The courier post reported the vehicles were then shipped overseas, including to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the seven men from diverse backgrounds allegedly being part of an international crime network.
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“They were disciplined, sophisticated and certainly motivated,” Queensland Police Inspector Paul Dalton said The courier post.
One of the alleged perpetrators appeared in a Brisbane court last month and the judge refused him bail due to the complexity of the operation.
The defendant ran a scrapyard in the Brisbane suburb of Rocklea, where some of the stolen vehicles were allegedly parked.
On December 2, 2025, the Queensland Police POLAIR unit tracked a stolen Toyota to the shipyard where two shipping containers containing LandCruisers and stolen parts were discovered.
“There have been no crimes of this nature since the initial arrests on December 2nd and the community can be assured that this syndicate no longer poses an ongoing threat,” Detective Inspector Dalton said.
Of the 60 stolen vehicles, only 15 were recovered, including nine in Port Melbourne, Victoria, after a similar wave of Toyota thefts in early 2025, prompting police to investigate possible links between the two operations.
“We are aware that the only other jurisdiction where this type of crime has occurred is Victoria earlier this year, where I believe over 150 motor vehicles were stolen,” Detective Inspector Dalton added.
“Again, any connection prior to their meeting in Brisbane is still part of our investigation and we are working with our international and domestic colleagues to find out.”
Car thefts in Victoria rose 40 per cent in the 12 months to June 2025, reaching their highest level in more than two decades.
The problem was raised by Daily Sparkz with Toyota saying it is working on a solution to make the popular models more difficult to steal.
The Prado was Toyota Australia’s third best-selling model in 2025, finding 26,106 new homes, putting it behind the Ford Ranger, Toyota’s own RAV4 and HiLux, the Isuzu D-Max and the Ford Everest.
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