Overview
- The 15-count indictment, unsealed Wednesday, names six suspects in a D.C.-centered car theft conspiracy, with five in custody and a sixth a fugitive.
- Prosecutors say thieves used Autel key-programming tools to rewrite a car’s computer and pair a blank fob, letting them take vehicles in about a minute without keys or damage.
- Investigators have tied more than 20 cars worth nearly $1 million to the case and suspect the ring may extend to over 100 thefts in D.C. and 30-plus in Prince George’s County.
- Stolen vehicles were taken to “cool-off” garages in Navy Yard and at a Maryland Marriott where plates were swapped, vehicle identification numbers were obscured, and GPS and Bluetooth were shut off before packing them into containers labeled as furniture.
- Cars moved through ports in Savannah, Baltimore and Newark to buyers in West Africa, as agents searched a Decatur, Georgia storage site and review whether shippers knowingly assisted the operation.