Drivers stranded as they walk out of airports to find cars missing – then license plate reader exposes troubling truth

A number of drivers at a large airport stepped out to discover their vehicles gone, leaving them totally stranded.

According to police at DFW Airport in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, an organized crime cell stole about 52 cars valued at almost $5 million.

A Dallas News story claims that multiple individuals have been charged with conspiring to steal the cars from DFW.

Since February 2023, the investigation has been underway, and according to the affidavit, up to 14 suspects have been identified.

The crew, which is based in the Houston region, is suspected of stealing vehicles from airports in New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah.

When a license plate reader was used to notify authorities of a suspicious car entering the airport in October, three individuals were taken into custody, giving the case a boost.

The car had an insecure temporary license plate, which police were able to find out about during a traffic stop.

The identities of the three residents were Yoel Hernandez-Frometa, 38; Yanier Pinillo-Toro, 30; and Jose Antonio Perez-Rodriguez, 29.

When the police examined the automobile, they discovered many equipment that are frequently used to get into cars, including a device that reprograms car key fobs.

As if that weren’t enough, the car also contained 14 key fobs.

Hernandez-Frometa had been at the same DFW Airport terminals where at least eight cars were taken between July 2023 and October 2024, according to additional inquiry.

Additionally, he was pictured in multiple of the pilfered cars.

Hernandez-Frometa and Pinillo-Toro were both detained in Salt Lake City in July and charged with evading arrest and possessing a stolen vehicle.

They were caught using the identical key fob reprogramming tool that was seized at DFW, along with multiple sets of car keys.

Then, in August, Perez-Rodriguez was discovered by Harris County police in possession of a vehicle with a flipped VIN.

All three males were arrested and sent to Tarrant County jail, where they are currently being charged with organized crime.

This comes after a woman disclosed that while on vacation, her car was stolen and driven around 20 miles from an airport parking lot.

A Hudson Valley, New York, car owner claims that after parking in a long-term lot close to JFK Airport, her vehicle was taken from Jamaica, Queens, to Jersey.

An unidentified New Hampton resident told CBSNewson that she feels violated because a stranger was driving her car while she was halfway around the world, carrying all of her personal possessions.

In other places, over the winter, authorities have begun to crack down on speeding drivers, which has resulted in some quite costly fines.

After being caught speeding in a restricted highway lane, a driver in Canada was fined $7,000.

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