New York Daily News & Police Bureau Chief – A crew of thieves stole 20 cars in the course of about 20 hours from a Queens dealership, police said Monday.
The crooks repeatedly hit a car lot owned by a Mitsubishi dealership on Liberty Ave near 156th Place in Jamaica over the weekend, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig.
The Mitsubishi dealership is not on-site, which allowed the robbers to break into a box where the keys were locked up. After driving the cars off the lot, “they kept coming back,” Essig said.
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The thieves made off with used Acuras, BMWs, Mercedes and Audis ranging from 2016 to 2019 models. None had license plates.
Police believe the vehicles are used in robberies and burglaries.
“We know in the past, these go overseas, but now we’re seeing with autos they’re used in crimes — riding around the city, doing gunpoint robberies in smoke shops, on the street corners,” Essig said.
Employees at the lot did not realize any cars had been stolen until they came in Monday morning.
Police do not believe any employees were involved in the scheme.
One of the cars, an Audi, was recovered on Parkside Ave. near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Essig said.
Police are still searching for members of the crew.
Top Feature Photo: The thieves made off with used Acuras, BMWs, Mercedes and Audis ranging from 2016 to 2019 models. None have license plates – Shutterstock
