LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As part of a multi-state luxury car theft investigation, Louisville Metro Police recently made several arrests and seized millions of dollars worth of vehicles.
LMPD has called the investigation into the thefts "Operation Havana Highway."
Last week, Sixth Division Impact detectives executed several search warrants, leading to the arrest of at least six people and the recovery of about 30 vehicles.
The vehicles -- now sitting in the LMPD impound lot -- include Corvettes, Range Rovers, a BMW and an RV. Detectives said the vehicles are worth more than $3 million in total.
Many were stolen out of Florida, specifically Fort Lauderdale and Miami, according to investigators. States like Texas and Ohio are also said to be involved.
PHOTOS | Louisville police find 30 stolen/cloned cars in illegal car ring
Detective Brian Reccius said LMPD was first alerted to the theft operation last November.
"Our investigation started with two stolen cars and we spanned into over time about an 8-month period. I think we got 31 stolen vehicles," he said.
With the help of other agencies, including Kentucky State Police, investigators determined the cars were being masked through a VIN-cloning process.
"They're changing that number and then creating fake title and they're pushing the title through the county clerk's office," Reccius explained.
He said then, the license plate ends up matching the VIN in the window or on the door sticker.
The sophistication of the operation is what separates this from typical auto theft, according to Reccius. He said many of the cars had been stopped before, but officers didn't know they were stolen.
"You've essentially created a car that doesn't exist," he said. "It was almost impossible for us on the street to detect that the cars were stolen, because if you ran the license plate it would come back to the car."
Reccius said some of the cars were being driven, whereas others may have been obtained with the goal of making a profit.
"Money and a free nice car," he said. "The Bentley is $200,000, $300,000, or $400,000 depending on which model it is. The Mercedes and BMWs are all $100,000 plus."
Investigators don't know yet how the cars are being stolen or who is responsible for cloning the VINs.
Reccius said all of LMPD's arrests so far have been local. That's information he believes the other states involved will be able to benefit from.
“We can give them suspect information about who was in possession of a stolen car," Reccius said. "Down the road, we may be able to find out who stole the cars and the process of cloning the VINs and who they’re talking to get that done.”
Reccius said the investigation is ongoing and LMPD expects more charges in the future.
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