‘This is money, this is my life’: Victim of violent Thornhill robbery says he had around $110K stolen

The victim of a violent robbery in Thornhill says he had $100,000 to $110,000 stolen from him after being boxed in his car.

“This is money, this is my life. I want to keep it,” Mohammad Yaghoubi told CTV News Toronto.

The robbery happened just after 5 p.m. on Oct. 8 in a driveway near a commercial plaza called World Shops, near Yonge Street and Meadowview Avenue.    

Yaghoubi said was driving through the plaza at that time when his grey Genesis was boxed in by a white Lexus SUV and a white Mercedes-Benz. He said he tried to reverse, but his vehicle’s safety features wouldn’t allow it and the vehicles closed him in.

In a video shared by York Regional Police (YRP), three suspects wearing dark-coloured clothing are seen kicking and smashing at the driver-side door of Yaghoubi’s vehicle. Eventually, the door opens and he is pulled out and assaulted repeatedly.

At one point, one of the suspects is seen retrieving a carry-on style suitcase, which police said was filled with an undisclosed quantity of cash, from Yaghoubi’s vehicle. The suspects are then observed fleeing the scene in two cars.

On Thursday, Yaghoubi had some bruising on his face, but said he is alright. Police said he sustained minor injuries.

YRP Det. Sgt. Ryan Boulay told CP24 that the robbery was “taken up a level,” given the time of day it occurred.

“Middle of the afternoon, broad daylight, there’s traffic and pedestrians everywhere. It’s not something that we normally see,” Boulay said on Thursday afternoon.

“The incident certainly seemed like there was an element of planning behind it. The suspects showed up in two vehicles, they certainly knew what they intended to do when they were seeing that victim in and they also appeared to know exactly what they were after.”

Yaghobi said he believes the suspects were “watching” him and noticed him carrying the suitcase filled with cash.

He said he owns a currency exchange business about three kilometres south of the area, at Yonge Street and Finch Avenue. Yaghoubi added that security is an issue as companies charge $400 per hour and insurance does not cover cash transfers.

“We do encourage people that if you are in the business of transporting any types of goods or valuables that have a high value, consider hiring a professional career company that specializes in these types of deliveries,” Boulay said.

“If you can’t go down that road, consider changing your routine and your habits and not making you predictable to anyone that may be looking for this type of product.”

The suspects are only described by police as males who spoke with a “Middle Eastern” accent.

Investigators said the Lexus was reported stolen in Toronto earlier on Tuesday and has the Ontario licence plate number DCDL 270.The Mercedes-Benz’s licence plate, CKDY 286, was not registered to the vehicle, police noted.

Investigators did not release descriptions of the drivers of the suspect vehicles.

Police say they believe the robbery was targeted and are asking anyone with information to contact YRP’s Hold-Up Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630, or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Sean Leathong and CP24’s Beatrice Vaisman