• Authorities at the Port of Baltimore are uncovering hundreds of stolen vehicles for export.
  • On average, agents find at least one stolen vehicle a day, most headed to West Africa.
  • Some thieves rent cars for 30 days, then prepare them to ship overseas immediately.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents face an uphill battle and that’s especially true at the Port of Baltimore. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics notes it’s one of the “top 20 ports in the United States by tonnage and number of containers handled … and is a major hub for the import and export of motorized vehicles.”

However, a number of those vehicles are stolen and headed overseas. The Voice of America reports agents examine several hundred vehicles every day and typically find at least one that is trying to be exported illegally.

More: Stolen US Cars Funding Terrorism, Authorities Warn

These run the gambit from a Toyota Avalon to a Ford F-150 Raptor. We can also see a Mercedes crossover, a Land Rover Velar, and a Toyota Sienna – among others.

Crooks use an assortment of different methods to obtain vehicles and the Mercedes was reportedly purchased with a stolen identity. However, officials told the publication that one of the more popular methods is to rent a car for 30 days. After picking it up, they immediately take it to a shipping container, put a new VIN number over the old one, and then get it ready to ship overseas. By the time the rental period is up and the car is reported stolen, it could already be in route to its destination.

Speaking of which, the Director of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Baltimore estimated that “90 to 95% of every one of our stolen automobiles is headed to West Africa.” This stands in contrast to the Port of Savannah, which often sees stolen cars shipped to Libya, Jordan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

However, in both cases, the vehicles fund bad things. This includes everything from drugs to human trafficking and terrorism.

Unfortunately, there’s not enough resources and manpower to search every container. Thankfully, technology is helping as mobile X-ray machines can quickly scan containers and reveal things that might be worthy of further examination.