Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,
Federal authorities in the Washington area have uncovered an alleged international vehicle theft ring involving six people suspected of stealing cars and shipping them to Africa, where they are sold for top dollar.
Six people were charged on April 22 in connection with their roles in the alleged scheme.
A 15-count federal indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charging the defendants with conspiracy to steal at least 20 vehicles in the Washington metropolitan area and Pennsylvania.
The cars are transported over state lines and sold to buyers in the United States and the African nation of Ghana,according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.
The indictment follows a year-long investigation into an alleged auto-theft ring in the District of Columbia area that involved vehicles stolen using electronic devices that allowed thieves to reprogram cars to accept blank key fobs, prosecutors said.
“They don’t need keys, and they don’t need hot wiring—no smashed windows, no drama—just a sleek electronic device called an ‘Autel’ and under a minute the car’s brain is rewritten,”U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said during a press conference on April 22.
“The car is gone in 60 seconds.”
An Autel device can be used to erase a vehicle’s records and reprogram its keys. Law enforcement is continuing to investigate the case, Pirro said.
The auto theft ring could involve more than 100 vehicles in the District of Columbia and more than 30 vehicles in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Source: ZeroHedge News
