In the hills of a West African town, a vehicle from Tobacco Road is leaving new tread marks.

The car was stolen from North Carolina and hauled overseas, Raleigh police say.

“We are tracking a car in Ghana right now,” Lt. John Black with the Raleigh Police Department said. “It is very prevalent for them to steal cars, put them on container ships and ship those vehicles overseas.”

Black is the head of the Raleigh Police Department’s auto-theft task force, a unit created last June to tackle an explosive problem across the country.

According to RPD data compiled by Crosstown, 2,477 vehicles were reported stolen in Raleigh last year. That number has nearly tripled since 2019.

Those 2,477 vehicles are the most ever stolen in one year in the City of Oaks.

The same year the police department created a task force to alleviate this problem. Without the task force, Black says, it could have been even worse.

“It did have an impact,” he said. “At the highest increase rate last year, there was a 34 percent increase [year over year]. We were able to reduce that amount to a 21 percent increase. While it’s not a [total] decrease in auto thefts, we certainly did have an impact on that rising trend.”

That trend is apparent already in 2025. RPD data via Crosstown shows 485 vehicles were reported stolen so far this year. That’s 110 fewer thefts than the same time last year.

Raleigh is on pace for 2,146 stolen vehicles total in 2025, a possible 13.4 percent decrease year-over-year.

“Our goal is to close out 2025 with a measurable decrease in auto thefts,” Black said. “We have trended since 2020 with an increase every single year in auto thefts. We’re very hopeful, with this team paying specific attention to auto thefts, that we will have our first year with a reduction in auto thefts to break that climbing trend since 2020.”

To do that, RPD is combatting a sophisticated, ever changing group of car thieves. 

“Technology is every changing,” Black said. “With technology, comes auto theft patterns that we haven’t really talked a lot about.”

Black says keys are being reprogrammed so thieves can remote start vehicles while they’re still in someone’s driveway. Even what may sound simple -- pushing a car away from a home -- is more complex in nature.

“That’s called a push theft,” Black said. “They can quickly dismantle the center console of a car, put it in neutral, and they’ll use another car to push it down the road before they actually try and start the car.”

And then there is the tech that sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie: cloning cars.

“This is more sophisticated than people might think,” Black said. “It’s certainly a cat-and-mouse game with the evolution of technology and the adaptation that these criminal organizations are using to steal these cars.”

Cloning cars, or re-VINing, essentially swaps the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from a non-stolen vehicle to the one that’s stolen. It gives the appearance that a stolen vehicle is actually on the up and up.

“They may purchase that car online, take that car’s identity and put it on the stolen car to try and pass it off as the wrecked or salvaged vehicle,” Black said. “So if an officer were to pull it over and run its tag on its face, it looks like a legitimate vehicle. But in reality, it’s cloned or revinned to hide its stolen status.”

Here’s where the auto theft task force steps in. Black’s team is teaching other law enforcement officers within RPD and across Wake County to be more attentive when looking at VINs. It’s changing the way officers do traffic stops.

So instead of license and registration, an officer will now take a look under the windshield at the VIN.

“Today, I think we’re doing a lot better job [identifying VINs] than we were five years ago,” Black said.

It’s not a new scheme, but one that’s evolved. Typically, Black says, officers will run a VIN and, if it comes back for a totally different vehicle, the theft is evident. However, the more sophisticated thieves are identifying VINs to use that are similar in make and model.

“Ultimately, it’s a mix of both,” Black said. “At the end of the day, all they want to do is clone that car and sell it for a profit.”

These stolen cars from the Raleigh area are popping up all over -- Virginia, Georgia, Florida, even in places far from the roads like container ships at the Port of Baltimore or Port of Charleston bound for West Africa.

Remember that stolen vehicle from Raleigh currently being tracked in Ghana? It’s going for much more than it did off the lot in the Triangle.

“By the time a car ends up in Ghana, the value is increased four times,” Black said. “So a $50,000 car here gets put on a container ship, shipped to Ghana and ultimately, that’s a $200,000 car there. It’s a very lucrative business for them.”

That’s been the most surprising thing for Black in the 10 months he’s been leading the auto theft task force. This is all much bigger than Raleigh or Wake County or even the entire state. It’s a global enterprise you’d have a hard time believing on the big screen.

But it’s happening right here.

“These are very sophisticated, organized car theft groups,” Black said.

The task force is recovering these vehicles. However, this is far from the Kias and Hyundais being reported stolen at high rates. The group recovered a Lamborghini Urus (MSRP: $275,000) and Jeep Wrangler (MSRP between $34,000-$100,000) recently.

If one of those vehicles ends up in another country, it’s as good as gone, according to Black. But the distance does not stop the department from making arrests and recovering these vehicles.

Since its inception, the auto theft task force has recovered 121 stolen vehicles valued at $3.4 million. Black says about half of those recovered vehicles were cloned, re-VINned or disguised in some manner.

Other times, these vehicles are sold to unsuspecting buyers, who think they’re getting the vehicle legitimately. It’s why Black encourages people buying cars to do their research, use a CARFAX history report and look for any inconsistencies in mileage, color or the package for the vehicle.

“It may be a base model Dodge Charger VIN but when you look at the car, it’s a very nice Charger Hellcat,” Black said. “Another indicator could be the price. If it’s too good to be true, that may be the case. If you’re trying to buy an $80,000 car on Facebook Marketplace for $20,000, that’s a red flag.”

He also encourages bringing a mechanic in to look at the vehicle and spot any indicators that something may be off or buying your own VIN reader online to ensure there is accurate information about the vehicle.

But ultimately, Black knows his team will continue to crack down on this problem as they inch closer to the criminals.

And they’re making progress. Black says the department has filed 370 felony charges and 42 misdemeanor charges since the task force started. Additionally, they’ve filed 114 juvenile petitions related to stolen cars as well.

“I think that’s why you’re seeing the reduction in motor vehicle thefts,” Black said. “We’re educating more officers to spot some of these indicators. We’re paying attention to it. You may get lucky a couple of times stealing a car but eventually, our team is going to be on your heels and hold you accountable for your actions.”