LoJack Recovery of Stolen BMW Leads Police to a Chop Shop in Mexico
- January 24, 2012
- recovery stories
On the morning of January 14, 2012, the owner of a 2002 BMW-325i contacted the San Diego Police Department to report the vehicle stolen.
San Diego Police responded to the scene, prepared a stolen vehicle report and had the stolen BMW’s information entered into the state and federal crime computers. This routine police action automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the BMW and initiated the tracking of the vehicle.
A few minutes later, San Diego Police Officers began receiving the silent homing signals from the stolen BMW-325i with the LoJack Police Tracking Computers installed in their patrol vehicles. Following the tracking cues, the officers determined the vehicle was across the border in Tijuana, Mexico.
The following afternon, police officers in Baja California, Mexico, also began receiving the BMW’s LoJack signal on their PTCs, and tracked the stolen vehicle to a residential area in Tijuana. The officers located the BMW inside of a property, along with a 2002 Dodge Intrepid and a 2002 Ford Ranger. Both the Dodge and Ford vehicles were partially stripped. Further investigation revealed that the BMW was scheduled to be stripped later, and led to the arrest of one suspect.
This case will be turned over to the Federal Attorney’s Office in Tijuana, for prosecution for possession of the California stolen vehicle. Investigators from Mexico and the United States will continue the investigation of this theft ring.
The BMW-325i was recovered intact and undamaged; it was stored pending return to the owner or insurance agent. The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the BMW in August 2002.