Major Car Thefts Ring Busted in NYC Stole More Than 100 Vehicles

www.police1.com, Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, May 18, 2025

The “massive criminal ecosystem,” which stole, brokered and sold the vehicles, is “one of the biggest auto theft rings ... seen in the last decade,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said

NEW YORK — A massive and sophisticated car theft ring based in Queens that sprawled across the U.S. has been uncovered, with 20 people indicted after a years-long investigation, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Thursday.

The “massive criminal ecosystem,” which involved individuals who teamed up to steal, broker and sell the stolen vehicles using high-tech as well as traditional methods, is “one of the biggest auto theft rings that we have seen in the last decade,” Katz said at a press conference announcing the takedown.

Of the 20 people indicted, 14 are facing the top charge of criminal enterprise, which carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. The other individuals are variously charged with possession of stolen property, grand larceny and conspiracy, and two people are charged with weapons possession after investigators uncovered four illegal firearms in connection with the case.

The three-year investigation involving the Queens D.A.’s Office, the NYPD, state police and other agencies that led to the takedown was dubbed Operation Hellcat by police, “because it began with a pattern of thefts of Dodge Hellcats, traditionally identified by their high horsepower and noise to attract attention,” Katz said. Continue article