Recoveries Of Stolen Vehicle Exports Ticked Up Nationally In 2024, But Dropped At Mid-Atlantic Ports

U.S. Customs And Border Protection said its Baltimore Field Office intercepted 250 stolen vehicle exports during 2024, valued at $9.6 million.

The 2024 figure marks a 27% decrease from 2023, when CBP officers in the Baltimore region made 343 recoveries of stolen vehicle exports. Nationally, however, the figures ticked up: CBP recovered 1,445 stolen vehicle exports in 2024, a 9% increase over 1,316 recoveries made in 2023.

CBP says the regional and local decrease in the area can be attributed in part to the Baltimore Field Office gaining “a reputation as highly competent hunters who excel at sniffing out attempts to export stolen vehicles through Mid-Atlantic seaports.”

The Baltimore Field Office area of responsibility runs from Trenton, N.J., to the Virginia–North Carolina state line, covering New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Vehicles are exported through seaports in the Delaware Valley region, Baltimore, and Norfolk, Va.

“Auto theft remains a rising concern in the United States and transnational criminal organizations continue to victimize our nations citizens and our businesses by stealing our vehicles for illicit profit,” said Matthew Suarez, CBPs Acting Director of Field Operations in Baltimore. “Customs and Border Protection officers remain committed to combatting this illicit international trade in stolen vehicles by intercepting these vehicles at our seaports and hitting the bad guys where it hurts most, in the wallet.”

Among the vehicles recovered in the Baltimore region in 2024, 151, or about 60%, were destined for the West African nations of Benin (9), The Gambia (4), Ghana (28), Guinea (4), Ivory Coast (3), Liberia (2), Mali (5), Nigeria (70), Senegal (1), Sierra Leone (4), and Togo (21). CBP said that during each of the last five years, more than 90% of recovered stolen vehicles were bound for West African nations.

Another 65 vehicles recovered in 2024, or 26%, were destined for Iraq (49) and the United Arab Emirates (16).