Organized Crime and Auto Theft

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Michigan have indicted eight men accused of running an organized car‑theft and smuggling operation in the Detroit area that allegedly packed stolen vehicles into shipping containers and sent them through U.S. ports to destinations in the Middle East, including Iraq and Dubai. Investigators say the case is part of a broader surge in auto thefts in Michigan — 28,408 reported in 2023, up 4.1% from 2022 and 48.4% over five years — and that joint efforts by ICE Homeland Security Investigations and local police have already recovered more than 350 stolen vehicles tied to such schemes.