Durham, NC – Forget stealing your neighbor’s beat-up Civic. Car thieves have graduated to a more lucrative scheme: jacking high-dollar rides straight off dealership lots.
Feds Bust Car-Flipping Rings
WRAL Investigates uncovered a disturbing trend: dealership thefts are skyrocketing, with FBI data showing they’ve nearly tripled since 2018. It’s not a bunch of teenagers looking for a thrill ride either. These are organized rings targeting specific cars, often using tactics ripped straight out of a heist movie.
From Showroom to Shadow Market
One dealership owner, Wayne Dubois, watched in horror as security cameras captured a crew hitting two of his Durham stores. They knew exactly where the keys were stashed and made a beeline for the good stuff – Challengers, Chargers, the cream of the crop. They snagged four cars, ditched two totaled wrecks, and vanished with the rest.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Dealerships across the Triangle are getting slammed. A rare Camaro, a flashy Escalade, and an Audi were snatched from a Henderson lot. In Lillington, thieves pulled off a lightning raid, grabbing ten cars worth over $600,000 from a Hiester dealership in a mere 20 minutes.
The Plot Thickens: From Apartments to Epicenters
The WRAL investigation goes deeper, uncovering a car theft ring linked to a Cary apartment complex. A tip led them to a suspect’s place, where they found a treasure trove of criminal tools – a key scanner, a stash of high-performance car keys, and even a 3D printer (one can only guess what nefarious purposes that served).
But it gets bigger. A federal indictment revealed a multi-state theft ring targeting dealerships across the Southeast, with Charlotte as their base. These guys weren’t messing around – Bentleys, Land Rovers, Porsches, muscle cars – they stole them all, then fenced them off at fire-sale prices.
Dealers Fight Back, But at a Cost
Dubois is scrambling to adjust. They’re training salespeople to be wary of key-swapping scams and rethinking their social media strategy, after learning thieves use those platforms to track down hot inventory.
The cost of this crime wave is hitting dealerships hard. Insurance premiums are soaring, and security upgrades eat into profits. Dubois warns that these aren’t just “cost of doing business” expenses – they’ll eventually trickle down to customers and employees.
So, the next time you browse a dealership’s online showroom, remember, those shiny cars could be the next target for a high-tech heist.
