Thieves and undercover officers surround an alleged
stolen car in this CHP surveillance image.
A regional task force aimed at cracking down on car thieves in San Diego County netted indictments of 51 people and the recovery of 46 stolen cars.
The results of "Operation Hotel California" were released on Friday in a news conference at the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
The six-month undercover operation conducted by the Regional Auto Theft Task Force, or RATT, was revealed by District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis.
The county ranks 4th in the nation in terms of auto theft, Dumanis said.
Thieves find it easy to break into vehicles parked on the county's streets and either secret them in "chop shops" for disassembly or simply take them across the border into Mexico.
The investigation and indictments will shut down "dozens of car thieves," she said.
According to D.A.'s office, 27,767 vehicles were stolen in San Diego County in 2005. By 2008, that number dropped 21 percent to 21,863.
For 2009, the projected theft rate is less than 16,000 vehicles, a 40 percent reduction.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) was among the local law enforcement agencies participating in the investigation, which included officers going undercover to buy stolen cars, drugs and weapons at an secret location in San Diego.
The charges on the indictments include auto theft, selling stolen vehicles, sale of controlled substances, carjacking, residential burglary and identity theft.
NCIS became involved in the wake of reports that car thieves were targeting areas in and around military housing, San Diego NCIS Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey Morrow said.
In addition to the stolen vehicles seized, seven guns and two body armor vests were taken as evidence. Officers also bought drugs as part of the operation, including cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, Oxycontin and heroin.
RATT is led by the California Highway Patrol. Its members include the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Department, FBI and police departments in Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Coronado, El Cajon, Escondido, La Mesa and Oceanside. Other members of the task force include the California Department of Insurance, the National Insurance Crime Bureau and the San Diego County Probation Department.
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