LoJack Recovery of Stolen Toyota Corolla Leads FL Police to Bust 3 Manufacturing Meth

On May 29, 2012, the owner of a 2007 Toyota Corolla contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to report that his vehicle had been stolen from the driveway of his residence in Clermont, Florida. The Lake County deputy verified the theft and entered the vehicle’s information into the state and federal crime computers, which automatically activated the LoJack transponder concealed in the Toyota.

A short while later, a deputy from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office picked up the silent LoJack homing signals from the stolen Toyota on the Police Tracking Computers installed in his patrol vehicle. Following the directional and audible cues from the LoJack computer, the deputy tracked the vehicle to a motel on Rt. 17 in Lake Alfred, Florida. The Lake Alfred Police responded to the location, which consists of 12 individual bungalows. The Toyota was in the parking spot for one of the units. The motel manager reported that he had observed the renter of that unit driving the Toyota the previous evening. When the officers attempted to contact the renter, they heard voices from inside the unit and detected a chemical odor emitting from the unit. Once the SWAT team and fire department arrived, the officers entered the unit. Inside, they located 2 men and one woman, who were in the process of manufacturing Methamphetamine. All three were arrested at the scene for the theft of the recovered Toyota, possession of drug manufacturing equipment, and possession of a loaded firearm.

The LoJack Vehicle Recovery System was installed in the Toyota Corolla in April 2007 at Toyota of Orlando.