Tips from the community brought police to an auto shop in the Bronx.
BY DEAN MOSES
An NYPD task force
busted up an allegedly prolifi
c car theft ring in the
Bronx and Manhattan early
Tuesday morning, arresting
nine participants and seizing
12 stolen vehicles in the culmination
of a two-year investigation.
At dawn on Sept. 21, am-
NewYork Metro rode along
with NYPD offi cers as they
executed the fi nal step of a
two-year plan of action. Detectives
from the task force
spread out over the Bronx,
targeting both the individuals
who run the illegal operation
and the businesses
that—sometimes unknowingly—
store the poached
cars.
Auto thefts have been up
across the city so far in 2021;
though the NYPD reported
a fi ve percent drop in grand
larceny auto in August, such
thefts are up 17% year-to-date
— making operations such as
the Sept. 21 raid key to the department’s
efforts to combat
these crimes.
While most syndicates
function as a hierarchy to
steal vehicles and parts for
re-sale, cops said, this “steal
crew” gathered the loot from
their thievery for themselves.
At a pre-dawn meeting
Tuesday immediately before
the raid, commanding offi cer
of the Auto Crime Unit, Deputy
Inspector Robert LaPollo
briefed offi cers from several
different departments who
joined together to take down
the car theft ring — including
the NYPD’s Warrant Section,
Attorney General’s offi ce personnel,
Department of Motor
Vehicles, Yonkers Police Department,
Emergency Services
Personnel, and Homeland
Security Investigations.
The team secured four
warrants through the extensive
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,8 SEPT. 24-30, 2021 BTR
investigation, which
involved the use of surveillance
videos, covert cameras
and License Plate Recognition
(LPR) technology that allowed
police to track and observe
individuals bringing in
stolen vehicles. In addition,
police were able to obtain title
nine wiretaps which helped
further the investigation.
The criminals’ master
key
According to police
sources, this criminal group
adopted a new technology
that allows them to digitally
clone car key fobs in order to
gain access to vehicles without
damaging them.
Utilizing a specifi c discount
website, cops said, they
were able to obtain a key code,
which they then gave to a
locksmith who would create a
key fob for them. Once inside
the car, they used an aftermarket
After a two-year investigation, police take down an auto crime ring on
Sept. 21, 2021, in the Bronx. Photos courtesy Dean Moses
auto reprogramming
device (a scan tool used by
locksmiths and mechanics)
that diagnoses error codes
and reprograms the car’s ignition.
Hacking the car’s system,
they made the vehicle’s com-
EXCLUSIVE: NYPD slams
brakes on big Bronx auto theft
ring in early-morning raid