Officers say they’ve connected seven individuals to some 200 cars worth $9.3 million
- Police in Texas arrested seven men allegedly connected to a high-end vehicle theft ring.
- Authorities claim the group targeted high-end exotics as well as muscle cars.
- The investigation took years to get to this point but appears to have already made an impact.
Vehicle theft is a booming business for those willing to work on the wrong side of the law. In Grapevine, Texas, it’s been a major problem for years. Since January 2023, the department there received 21 stolen vehicle reports per month on average until March of this year. Things are changing now though after authorities captured seven suspects allegedly involved in one of the largest vehicle theft rings in Texas.
According to the police there, these individuals targeted cars like Dodge Chargers, Dodge Challengers, Chevrolet Corvettes, and Chevrolet Camaros. Police also confiscated at least one Lamborghini Urus during its raid on the people in question. Evidently, it’s just one of some 200 stolen cars worth an estimated $9.3 million connected to the group.
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In 2023, two detectives and a crime analyst began working to track all of these stolen cars. Finally, they caught a break when it appeared as though one criminal used a high-profile stolen vehicle in the coordinated theft of a second car.
“Our crime analyst saw a vehicle and said I think that’s the vehicle from another one,” said Amanda McNew of the Grapevine Police Department to CBSNews.
“After a lot of hours of investigation, they were able to identify a suspect vehicle, and from there, it just snowballed and their investigation went wide open … Police were able to recover enough visual and physical evidence from a single theft that successfully tied this crew to $5-10 million in stolen vehicles from within the City of Grapevine Alone.”
Officers conducted two search warrants at homes in Dallas and Garland. In one case, there was the possible threat of a tiger in the residence which later proved inconsequential. Nevertheless, officers nabbed their targets and ultimately arrested seven people.
Now, all seven suspects are facing charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and police expect additional federal charges in the near future. Notably, it seems as though the arrests have already made an impact on the community. McNew claims that the month after the arrests, Grapevine recorded zero auto theft reports. Hopefully, that string of success can continue to the benefit of all involved.
