Jeanine Pirro says car theft ring steals vehicles in 60 seconds
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A recently busted international car theft ring could steal a vehicle in less than 60 seconds without flipping keys, breaking windows or breaking hot wires, rather than using a special piece of technology to “rewrite” the car’s brain, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Thursday.
“There’s no drama. There’s also this thing called Autel… it’s a very simple device that literally rewrites the brain of the vehicle,” Pirro said on “Fox & Friends.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced charges against an international car theft ring during a press conference with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
Suspects in the car ring operated in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington D.C. After successfully breaking into a car, they allegedly disabled tracking systems, including GPS and Bluetooth, to avoid detection, Pirro said.
PIRRO WARNING THAT VEHICLE THEFT USES NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR QUICK ACCESS TO VEHICLES: ‘GONE IN 60 SECONDS’
They then transported them to a “cooling off zone,” such as a Marriott hotel in Pennsylvania or another location at D.C.’s Navy Yard, where license plates and VINs were changed before the cars were allegedly loaded onto shipping carriers at ports in Savannah, Georgia, and Baltimore, Maryland, Pirro said.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced the charges against an international car theft ring at a press conference with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metro Police Department Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
“These cars are then transported to Africa. And they put them on these cargo carriers and they label these carriers ‘Furniture’ so that it doesn’t face the scrutiny that it would normally face if it were labeled ‘Vehicle,'” Pirro said.
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Pirro on Wednesday announced a 15-count federal indictment targeting the ring; He said the ring used Autels to recalibrate a vehicle’s internal computer, allowing them to program a blank key fob instead of using more traditional methods to steal cars.
Honda is the most popular car brand stolen in the United States, he said, adding that authorities are after about 100 more vehicles in connection with the auto theft ring.
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“Bang, in less than 60 seconds the car was gone. Cooled, transported and shipped to Africa. Nobody looks inside the container and they make a fortune,” Pirro emphasized.
“These are old crimes committed with new methods“
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
