$40 Million Luxury Car Theft and Smuggling Ring Exposed in Detroit

Source: Dearborn Heights

DETROIT – Federal prosecutors have indicted eight men from the Detroit area in connection with an elaborate scheme to steal and export luxury vehicles worth nearly $40 million.

According to the indictment, the operation ran from July 2023 through August 2025, targeting high-end models such as BMWs, Mercedes, and Cadillacs, many valued over $100,000. The stolen cars were stashed in industrial lots across metro Detroit before being crammed into shipping containers and sent to East Coast ports.

Smugglers allegedly falsified documents by labeling shipments as machinery parts or scrap metal to avoid detection. The cars were then bound for overseas markets, primarily in the Middle East.

Authorities estimate around 400 vehicles were stolen and exported during the two-year operation. Several containers were intercepted before leaving the U.S., thanks to joint efforts by federal agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.

The defendants, ranging in age from 33 to 46, are mostly residents of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. Two others acted as brokers, connecting thieves with smugglers and identifying target vehicles. All eight face conspiracy charges to transport stolen vehicles across state lines or internationally, carrying up to five years in prison, along with multiple counts of transporting stolen vehicles, each punishable by up to ten years.

“Behind every stolen car is a victim,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit said, stressing how such schemes ultimately burden hardworking Americans with higher insurance costs.