Criminals are becoming more sophisticated with the rise of modern technology.
But in the Sunshine State, they learn the old adage that crime doesn’t pay.
And Florida police busted one scary criminal scheme that was lifted from the Fast and Furious.
Sophisticated car theft rings steal millions of dollars worth of vehicles from dealerships
Stealing a car has become more difficult for would-be thieves with the increased security measures in modern vehicles.
An auto theft ring in Hillsborough County, Florida figured out how they could exploit the modern technology in vehicles to their advantage.
Rafael Garcia, a 21-year-old, and his 16-year-old brother Christion Garcia led a high-tech auto theft ring that stole 30 new vehicles from 20 dealerships in 11 counties in Florida according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The brothers and four other members of the ring targeted mostly Chevrolet, Dodge, and Jeep dealerships.
One of the members of the ring would use a tablet that could reprogram the key fob for the vehicle after breaking into it through the sunroof or window.
They would go for the most expensive vehicles on the lots like the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, Ram 1500 TRX, Dodge Charger Hellcat, and the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro.
Once they got the vehicle off the lot, they would take it to a public parking lot at a mall or a hospital to see if the vehicle was being tracked.
The vehicles were then taken to a storage locker where they would either be sold or stripped for parts.
More than $2.5 million worth of vehicles were stolen before the police took down the ring.
Car thieves could not outrun the law
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Amanda Granit admitted it took them a while to catch onto the scheme.
“As we just pulled back the onion layers even more, we realized that it wasn’t a trend of crimes of opportunity,” Granit said. “This was calculated and targeted and very sophisticated.”
The auto theft ring started their crime spree back in March.
“There’s only so much you can do to stop a criminal who is hell-bent on getting a vehicle away,” Granit admitted.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office launched “Operation Family Affair” because the investigation centered on the ringleaders, the Garcia brothers, who had rap sheets that were a mile long.
And they managed to arrest four of the five suspects in the case.
Rafael Garcia, Christion Garcia, 18-year-old Enzo Oliveira, 22-year-old Bisma Sial, and 17-year-old Adriel Arroyo were arrested for their roles in the auto theft ring.
One other suspect remains at large.
The five car thieves are facing a total of 65 charges including grand theft auto, conspiracy, and racketeering.
“The work of our Auto Theft Unit, alongside our partners throughout the state, sends a loud and resounding message: there is no place for vehicle theft in Florida,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. “These individuals not only conspired to commit a continuous pattern of crime but were deriving substantial profits from their activity.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office will oversee their prosecution.
“While they operated fast, they didn’t have enough gas to outrun the law,” Moody said. “And now that [the Sheriff’s Office] has put the brakes on their operation — my Statewide Prosecutors will ensure they pay for their multimillion-dollar crime spree.”
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
