Eleven people accused of stealing cars at Colorado airports to sell them to cartels in Mexico
The organization operated between July 2024 and January 2025 in at least seven counties in the state and stole 41 vehicles
Eleven people were accused in Colorado of being part of a network dedicated to the theft of vehicles and trailers at airports in this state and then transporting them to Mexico for possible sale to cartels.
The indictment, unsealed by the state prosecutor's office, is based on a total of 52 counts presented by a grand jury, including criminal association, conspiracy, vehicle theft, forgery and possession of tools to commit robberies.
He detailed that the organization operated between July 2024 and January 2025 in at least seven counties in the state and stole 41 vehicles with losses exceeding $900,000.
The group would have concentrated its activities in parking lots at regional airports, as well as Denver International Airport, nearby hotels and rural areas.
The defendants, according to the Prosecutor's Office, took advantage of the fact that the owners were out of the city for several days and, therefore, did not immediately discover the theft.
This delay allegedly allowed the vehicles to be used in other crimes, moved to rural warehouses or driven to Mexico before authorities incorporated the theft information into their alert systems.
Prosecutors maintain that the defendants modified the appearance of the vehicles, exchanged license plates, altered vehicle identification numbers and used false temporary Colorado license plates to make them difficult to track.
Additionally, authorities suspect that many of the vehicles sent to Mexico ended up in the hands of drug trafficking cartels, although that possible transnational connection remains under investigation.
This case occurred in a broader context of vehicle thefts at US airports and their subsequent illicit export to Mexico.
In June 2025, federal prosecutors in Texas announced charges against people linked to a ring that they say stole vehicles at airports in Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Fort Lauderdale, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.
The network used electronic devices to reprogram keys, used fraudulent plates, altered vehicle identification numbers and exported stolen vehicles to Mexico.