Car thieves targeting luxury vehicles in Charlotte like Audis and BMWs are meeting resistance from a Charlotte police team. In April 2023, CMPD formed a task force called SCARLET — Stolen Car And Recovery Law Enforcement Team — after an increase in luxury vehicles being stolen from dealerships and homes. The details were laid out in a search warrant returned this month in Mecklenburg County.
So far this year, has made 68 arrests, seized 66 vehicles, 47 firearms and more than 184 pounds of narcotics, according to CMPD. The team has also seized more than $200,000 in cash. “The investigation has identified multiple, organized crews operating in the Charlotte region engaged in the theft of high-end motor vehicles,” the October search warrant says.
“These thefts include luxury brands such as Mercedes, Land Rover, BMW, Audi, Lamborghini, but also expensive models manufactured by Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford.” To pull off the scheme, the thieves often follow a plan, the search warrant says. They review dealerships’ websites and pick out cars to steal.
Then they drive to the dealership and break in — sometimes by throwing a rock through a window or cutting through a fence — and leave with what they want. They use other tricks, too: They reprogram blank key fobs to work on the vehicle they want to steal. They visit a dealership and ask to go for a test drive.
“The subject replaces the actual vehicle key fob, with a blank or lookalike key fob. The associate does not r.