An international car theft ring stole more than 100 vehicles from the D.C. area using technology available for purchase online, prosecutors say. Federal and local law enforcement officials announced the indictment of six men who they say were shipping stolen cars to as far as Africa. Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now. “In the dead of night, crews strike the streets in Washington, D.C.; in Maryland and in Pennsylvania,” D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said. “And in seconds, they reprogram Corvettes, Camaros, Honda Civics. From there they are loaded onto shipping containers that are labeled furniture as opposed to cars because there will not be as much scrutiny. And then the shipping containers are sent across the ocean to Africa where they get top dollar on the black market. This is a sophisticated ring turning everyday cars into international cargo.” According to law enforcement, the car thieves targeted high-end sports cars and less expensive cars, mostly in Northwest D.C., and used a garage in Navy Yard to hold the cars before shipping them to sell as close as Maryland and Pennsylvania and as far away as Africa. Suspects swapped their license plates, obscured vehicle identification numbers and disabled security features, Pirro's office said. “So far, we've connected these suspects to 117 vehicle thefts that occurred in 2025 in the District,” interim D.C. Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll said. “To put that number in perspective, that would account for 20% of all the motor vehicle thefts in the city so far this year. We believe these suspects are connected to additional crimes and we're following up on many more cases.” A yearlong investigation found that ring members used devices allowing them to reprogram cars to accept blank key fobs. Pirro explained how easy it is for thieves to