Police Bust $3 Million Chop Shop Ring Specializing In Hellcat And Trackhawk Parts
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawks and Dodge Hellcats are some of the most stolen vehicles in the U.S. right now. If you're one of the unlucky folks who have had their high-powered Mopar muscle stolen in the past few years, there's a non-zero chance it ended up at this chop shop in Huntington Park, California.
All in all, the Fresno Police Department says they identified over 75 stolen vehicles at the garage as well as a second location in Fresno, with a total value north of $3,000,000. In a Facebook post, police said they found "high performance vehicles" including Chargers, Challengers, Durangos, Infinitis, Trackhawks and Chevy Camaros. There's nothing too shocking here, including the fact the bust has resulted in seven arrests and 110 felony counts... so far. Two suspects still remain at large. From the pictures, it looks as if hundreds if not thousands of parts have been recovered, along with ten firearms and a handful of short-barrel rifles.
Car thefts are a growing problem
The Fresno Police Department didn't mention a location for where these fells carried out all of their car-based thievery. It could have been local to Fresno, in all of California or possibly across the entire country. I'm sure more information will come out soon. In a 2023 report, the California Highway Patrol said 51.7 percent of the state's car thefts happened in Southern California. It was followed by the Bay Area (21.6 percent) and the Central Valley (11.9) percent, according to The Drive. That just so happens to be where Fresno is located.
Car theft seems to be a really hot activity right now. Last July, we told you about a car theft ring that stole over 400 vehicles from dealerships and factories. Obviously, we've also got the whole #KiaBoyz fiasco and catalytic converters are being cut out of cars all the time. Because of all this, we decided to take a look at the most stolen cars in America.