By Steven Symes 
Car thieves have been targeting airport parking areas for a long time, but police in Atlanta have busted at least one group. That organized theft ring was going for vehicles parked at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but we doubt that means the end of car thefts there.
Dashcam video shows Grappler Bumper rip the rear axle off a car.
Police say the group they busted were looking for particular vehicles, mostly Mopars as well as GM vehicles, all of them higher-end models. They were focusing on the airport parking during January and February of 2024, at least according to a report from WALB, but we think it’s likely they were doing more than that.
After all, we’ve covered car thefts at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and other airport parking lots and structures before. It makes sense since the thieves know the vehicles are sitting for days at a time, allowing them to work uninterrupted while stealing them.
Plus, security at a lot of airport parking lots is laughably bad. A lot of the public believes to the contrary, until their ride is stolen.
What undid this professional car theft ring was police investigating the thefts, identifying two of the low-level crooks in the organization. They then gathered more info on the men, eventually executing a search warrant and arresting three men, finding one stolen Dodge Challenger, plus items used to steal other vehicles.
In total, they attribute at least 96 car thefts to the men.
However, arresting three guys isn’t exactly dismantling the theft ring. They’re all probably in the lower levels of the organization, so having them off the streets won’t mean too much to the overall operation. After all, it’s pretty easy for theft rings to find more people willing to steal stuff and get paid.
That’s the sad reality about car theft in 2025.
Image via WALB