No less than 10 brand-new Dodge Rams rolled off the assembly line and on to burst through the factory gate at the Fiat Chrysler Warren Truck Assembly Plant early yesterday morning, a “cluster theft” of surprising size and audacity.
What’s not exactly clear is the purpose of the theft, whether it was for pieces of the Ram like navigation systems, or if the trucks were to be shipped off to a foreign buyer. But what is apparent is how bold the crime was, as the Detroit Free Press reports:
A security guard called Warren Police before dawn Thursday, watching in disbelief as a convoy of stolen 2018 Ram trucks crashed through the gate at the Fiat Chrysler Warren Truck Assembly Plant.
Trucks fresh off the assembly line.
They headed south on Mound Road. And disappeared.
“This was well-planned,” said Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer. “They were able to take at least 10 or 11 Ram trucks out on a convoy.”
The Freep went on to note that cluster thefts like this have been happening across the state and are not restricted to Detroit, batch thefts of vehicles with buyers already lined up. Indeed, we’ve reported on a number of these sorts of crimes, like when somebody (some group?) stole 13 new cars off of a lot in Chicago that was leaving keys in unlocked cars overnight.
There’s no exact theory on how these Ram thieves made off with their brand-new trucks, but this line from the Freep certainly stands out in that regard:
FCA declined to confirm whether keys were stored with the vehicles parked on the lot, noting that security is an ongoing issue that requires confidentiality.
Fiat Chrysler stated that it would be “assessing security measures” at the facility and changing what it felt is necessary. That’s probably wise.
These thieves are, at the moment of publishing, still riding free, with no suspects listed in the Freep article. If you ask us, this looks like the trademark style of the Brotherhood of Muscle. Could we be looking at an inside job?