Trouble At The Border: Thieves Sneaking Cars In Shipping Containers

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Once again car smuggling being caught by Customs and Border Protection agents at the Port of Baltimore is being profiled. This is a problem we’ve visited many times before and yet it seems many Americans are unaware just how many vehicles are likely getting through despite authorities’ best efforts.

A road rager chooses the wrong victim to pick on.

This latest report comes via VOA Africa and centers on the fact that CBP agents claim the vast majority of stolen cars they catch are being shipped to West Africa. We don’t know if they’re just catching more shipments to that region in the world or if in fact that’s where most stolen cars from the US are going, but either is possible.

In past reports we’ve seen the Middle East is another popular destination for vehicles stolen in the US and Canada. Obviously, there’s a demand in those markets and organized crime is willing to do just about anything to meet it.

Stolen cars are stashed in shipping containers with other items stacked in front, around, and even on top to conceal their presence. But mobile X-ray scanners used by CBP allows agents to get an idea of which shipping containers are worth opening and searching.

The report shows agents find two containers with multiple cars inside. One has a Toyota Avalon just behind a mattress. Another shows a Toyota Sienna minivan at the front, with a Ford Raptor and Honda Civic at the front of two more. We know luxury SUVs and trucks are popular targets for illegal international shipments.

While some of the vehicles are stolen from private parties, others are swiped from dealerships, including using false IDs to take them for a test drive that never ends. Another method thieves use is renting a car for 30 days, then driving them straight into a shipping container.

With the mobile X-ray machines, CBP catches some of the contraband cars, but many more slip through. Perhaps it’s time to provide agents with more advanced tools in their quest to stomp out the shipment of stolen vehicles.

Story continues

Image via VOA Africa/YouTube

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