At the Port of Baltimore last week, 13 vehicles, including one farming combine, were seized by federal and local authorities in an operation stemming from the flow of stolen vehicles leaving the country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a release on Thursday that the day’s spoils were a part of “Operation Terminus,” which is tasked to “recover as many stolen vehicles as possible at the port before they are exported and vanish into the global illicit stolen vehicle market.”
Officials say that the vehicles seized had an estimated value of $428,306. Twelve of the vehicles were destined for West Africa, while a John Deere farming combine was headed toward South America after being reported stolen in Michigan.
Vehicles retrieved from last week’s seizure at the Port of Baltimore include:
- 2014 Toyota Camry | $10,650
- 2020 Toyota Corolla | $19,676
- 2010 Toyota Camry | $8,775
- 2010 Toyota RAV4 | $8,625
- 2006 Toyota Matrix | $3,125
- 2014 John Deere S680 Combine | $114,000
- 2013 Toyota Camry | $8,350
- 2015 Toyota Camry | $13,650
- Nissan Kicks | $23,697
- 2024 BMW X6 | $75,734
- 2022 Land Range Rover Sport | $78,524
- 2018 Land Range Rover Sport | $39,650
- 2021 Jeep Compass | $23,850
CBP said last year its officers in Baltimore, Norfolk, Wilmington and Philadelphia had collaborated to intercept 239 stolen vehicles with a total value of around $11.5 million. Most were headed to Western Africa, according to the CBP.
CBP’s Operation Terminus includes partners from Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, National Insurance Crime Bureau, Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the Baltimore County Police Department.
“The success of Operation Terminus isn’t measured in the volume of vehicles recovered, but the relationships formed among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies,” said Steven Wachstein, CBP’s Acting Assistant Area Port Director for Tactical Operations in a news release. “Operation Terminus brings people, ideas, and solutions together in an effort to disrupt the flow of outbound stolen vehicles.”
