Many cars stolen in Minnesota that are never recovered are likely shipped overseas, expert says
MINNEAPOLIS -- Cars are being stolen in Minnesota and around the country at an alarming rate – sometimes dozens in a day.
So what happens to those cars? And who's investigating where they end up? WCCO News learned why many aren't being recovered.
You've seen the aftermath of a stolen car that flipped over an overpass. Or police chasing a car that thieves took, which then spins out and violently crashes.
"What is going on with kids or anybody that think it's OK to take someone's belongings," Rodney Lewis said.
Someone stole Lewis's Kia in front of his south Minneapolis home in May.
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"It's hardworking people that are going through this and it's a nightmare," Lewis said.
We know there's a trend with Kia and Hyundai vehicles. Thieves are dismantling a portion of the steering column, overriding the ignition, and taking the car. But other cars go missing, too. So where are they ending up?
"I'm not real sure. Maybe they're ending up in junkyards, or chop shops, or obviously my car they were just joyriding," Lewis said.
Some cars are recovered. Lewis got his back. A car might end up in the impound lot. Some are in bad shape, while others are drivable after repairs. But what about the cars that don't turn up? It turns out there's a more sophisticated reason a vehicle disappears.
"Vehicles that are stolen also can be stripped for their parts. Vehicles can be shredded for their scrap metal. And vehicles are also going overseas. It's an international industry," said Tony Ofstead, director of the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau.
His office is comprised of 22 agents and six analysts who investigate complex cases.
"Minnesota with its riverways and railways is an industrial mecca, and you can put a vehicle onto a significant major transport in very short order and have it to the border and overseas in very little time," Ofstead said.
That's right. Cars stolen in the North Star state are getting to interested international buyers overseas.
"It's often of people of privilege who don't have access to the types of vehicles that we have here in the U.S. So they are putting orders through their sources, most often illegal black market sources. They will find that vehicle whether it's on the lot, on the street or an innocent owner, steal the vehicle, load it into a transport and ship it overseas. So it can be Africa for example, which is a common place that these vehicles are shipped to," Ofstead said.
Before a car can be transported via rail, trucking container or waterway to its destination, something called VIN washing happens, like on stolen cars investigators intercepted. The vehicle identification numbers changed to match fake title papers, or falsified papers made to match the VIN.
"The vehicles have to be altered because they have to go through a customs process. That vehicle has to be 'clean,'" Ofstead said.
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Ofstead says car theft is a multi-billion dollar industry that hurts all of us when insurance rates rise.
"We all become victims of vehicles being stolen because we're all paying the price," Ofstead said.
Right now, the Minnesota Commerce Fraud Bureau is working on several active complex cases. It continues to develop ways to stay on top of how thieves are working, and finding ways to recognize when a car has been altered to sell.
Their main tip on how to keep your car? Take the keys with you. They say 60% of the 16,000 cars stolen in Minnesota last year had the keys in the car.
