A rising number of vehicles are being stolen in Texas and driven over the southern border, according to reports.
International criminal networks are behind a large number of car thefts in the Lone Star State, which have surged in recent years.
“We believe that most of the vehicles that are being stolen, not only here in Brownsville but in all of Texas, are being taken into Mexico for drug cartels to use,” Brownsville Police Department (BPD) spokeswoman Abril Luna told Fox Rio Grande Valley this week.
— Yvonne C (@yreid68) January 15, 2025
BPD arrested 570 suspects in connection with vehicle thefts in 2024.
In 2023, 332 stolen cars were reported in the city, up from around 190 in 2022.
Pickup trucks are reportedly popular targets for thieves in Texas, particularly Chevy and GMC models.
The number of cars stolen across the U.S. has risen every year since Joe Biden took office.
“Over one million vehicles were stolen last year, a record-breaking number that has skyrocketed since 2019. This trend especially disadvantages Texas, which ranks second for the most stolen vehicles in the past year,” KDAF reported in October.
In addition to cars being stolen and run across the border, human smugglers often use them to transport illegal aliens, frequently destroying and/or abandoning them in the process.
#NEW: A smuggler in a stolen truck evades from @TxDPS, drives through a ranch fence, crashing into a tree in Val Verde County.
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) May 11, 2024
5/10: The smuggler, Carlos Lombardich-Villalobos from Lockhart, Texas, recklessly drove through multiple intersections, attempting to evade Troopers.… pic.twitter.com/sNhDRiHkA4
This article was originally published at InfoWars.com
