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U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Thursday that a recently dismantled international auto theft ring could steal a vehicle in less than 60 seconds without swiping keys, breaking windows or plugging in hot wires, instead using a specialized piece of technology to “rewrite the brain” of the car.
“There's no drama. And they have something called Autel… which is a very simple device that literally rewrites the brain of the vehicle,” Pirro said on “Fox & Friends.”
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces charges related to an international auto theft ring during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026, alongside DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
The car ring suspects operated in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, DC. Once they successfully hacked a car, they allegedly disabled tracking systems, including GPS and Bluetooth, to avoid detection, Pirro said.
PIRRO WARNS THAT THE CAR THEFT RING USED NEW TECHNOLOGY TO QUICKLY ACCESS VEHICLES: 'IT DISAPPEARED IN 60 SECONDS'
They were then transported to a “cooling zone,” such as a Marriott hotel in Pennsylvania or another location in the D.C. Navy Yard, Pirro said, where license plates and VINs were exchanged, before the cars were supposedly loaded onto carriers at the ports of Savannah, Georgia, and Baltimore, Maryland.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces charges related to an international auto theft ring during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on April 22, 2026, alongside DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and Metropolitan Police Department Acting Chief Jeffery Carroll. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
“These cars are then transported to Africa. And they are placed on these loading racks where they are labeled 'Furniture' so that they don't receive the scrutiny that they would normally receive if they were labeled 'Vehicles,'” Pirro said.
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Pirro on Wednesday announced a 15-count federal indictment against the network, which she says uses Autels to recalibrate a vehicle's internal computer, allowing them to program a blank key instead of using more traditional methods to steal cars.
Hondas are the most popular brand of car to steal in the United States, he said, adding that authorities are pursuing about 100 more vehicles in connection with the auto theft ring.
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“Bang, in less than 60 seconds the car is gone. They cool it, transport it and then send it to Africa. Nobody looks at the container and they are making a fortune,” Pirro stressed.
“These are old crimes being committed in new ways“.
Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
