NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Imagine you wake up one morning to find your car has been stolen right out of your driveway. You call police and you make a report, but your vehicle could be long gone.
If it’s a luxury vehicle, U.S. and Customs Border Protection officials said there’s a high chance it will appear at a port to be exported to another country.
In his 40 years of working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Mark J. Laria, the Virginia area port director, told 10 On Your Side he has seen an increase in stolen luxury vehicles ending up at local ports. He said criminal organizations steal them and quickly get them into containers and ship them overseas.
“We get many of those every year in the millions of dollars worth,” he said, “because most of them are the high end vehicles and almost brand new vehicles.”
Across the country, Ford F-150 Raptors, Bentleys and even Lamborghinis have been reportedly found at ports. Laria said often times they’re rental vehicles that a criminal obtains under false pretenses, such as fraud.
He adds that a majority of the vehicles they see come stolen out of the Midwest or somewhere up north. Before dealerships or rental companies realize this, the vehicle is put on a container and is long gone.
Laria said a majority of these vehicles are bound for countries like west Africa or the Middle East. They used to see average sedans pretty regularly.
“The moment they have them, they get them in a container,” Laria said, “because the faster they can get them out of here, the less likely it is that the company will ever get them back.”
He said timing is everything in these crimes and to report your car — or dealership and rental inventory — stolen the moment you notice its gone.
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