(This stolen Lexus recovered in Wilmington was destined for an overseas destination)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the Baltimore Field Office intercepted 239 stolen vehicles during fiscal year 2022 (Oct.1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2022), with Wilmington as one of the top overseas shipping points.
The vehicles were valued at nearly $11.5 million.
Nationally, CBP recovered 1,235 stolen vehicles during fiscal year 2022 before they could be exported by sea or driven across the United States’ land borders.
During many of the seizures, CBP officers partnered with special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), who, along with their state and local law enforcement partners on HSI’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force, investigated the stolen vehicles.
The Baltimore Field Office officers seized an additional 73 non-stolen vehicles, either unmanifested, possessing fraudulent titles, or violating other export laws. These vehicles were valued at over $2.8 million.
The Baltimore Field Office covers an area from Trenton, N.J., to the Virginia-North Carolina state line. Vehicles and other conveyances are exported through busy ports. Used vehicles are shipped out of the Port of Wilmington.
The following data points offer insight into the Baltimore Field Office’s recovered stolen vehicles during 2022.
At the Port of Philadelphia and the Port of Wilmington 20 stolen vehicles were recovered. The vehicles were valued at $183,395.
- The top-5 destination countries where the recovered vehicles were to be sent were Sierra Leone (49 vehicles), Togo (43), Ghana (35), Nigeria (27), and Liberia (26). These destinations accounted for 76 percent of recovered stolen vehicles.
- 72 percent (172 vehicles) were from model years 2019 through 2022; 43 percent (102 vehicles) were from 2021-2022.
- 71 percent (169 vehicles) of recovered stolen vehicles were sport utility vehicles.
- The top-5 recovered stolen vehicles were the Land Rover Range Rover (27 vehicles), Toyota 4-Runner (18), Toyota Rav4 (17), BMW X7 (16), and BMW X5 (15).
- The most expensive recovered stolen vehicle was a 2022 Bentley Bentayga, valued at $187,600. CBP officers in Baltimore recovered it before it shipped to Togo.
- The oldest vehicle was a 1973 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow recovered in Baltimore and destined to Saudi Arabia. The Silver Shadow was valued at $11,700.
- CBP officers in Wilmington seized the only ATV, a 2016 Honda destined for Costa Rica.
