As Project South investigators swept across the Greater Toronto Area, arresting several cops as well as the network of alleged criminals they’re accused of conspiring with, a group of officers descended on a North York car lot. During that Feb. 4 raid on Lecos Auto Sales, officers seized a Ford F150 that was listed for sale. According to authorities, the truck had a vehicle identification number belonging to another F150 that had been shipped out of Canada in 2024. The vehicle’s “true VIN,” authorities allege, matched that of a truck that had been stolen from Toronto streets nearly two years earlier. Investigators also allegedly uncovered other fake VIN plates and forged VIN stamps at the dealership. Phil Lecos, the auto lot operator, was charged with one count of possession of property obtained by crime. He was among the 28 names included by police when they announced the Project South arrests, but Lecos’s alleged role in the sweeping corruption probe was unclear. Lecos Auto Sales, tucked on an industrial drag near Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue W., is less than a 10-minute drive from Toronto police’s 12 Division, where at least five of the officers arrested in Project South have worked over their careers. An increasing number of connections outlined in both civil and criminal court records, as well as financial and regulatory documents, suggest it’s more than geography tying Lecos and his dealership to the case that has rocked the Toronto Police Service. Meanwhile, a provincial authority is trying to strip the dealership and its financing branch of being allowed to sell vehicles. The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC) has suspended, and will move to revoke, the registration of Lecos Auto Sales’ North York location, along with that of its financing entity, Vista Finance, in light of Lecos’s arrest.