NEWARK, N.J. (VINnews) — Federal authorities recovered a record 603 stolen vehicles valued at more than $36 million at the Port of New York-Newark during fiscal year 2026, officials said at a news conference at the Elizabeth Seaport.

The seizures mark the highest number of stolen vehicles stopped at any U.S. port in a single year and the most recovered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at any point of entry, according to CBP Director of Field Operations Francis Russo.

About half the vehicles were destined for West Africa and roughly 15% for the Dominican Republic, CBP Port Director TenaVel Thomas said. Many high-end models, including Porsches valued at more than $200,000 and Dodge Ram trucks worth more than $90,000, had been concealed in shipping containers with altered vehicle identification numbers and fraudulent export documents.

“Keeping over $36 million in stolen property from leaving this country, but behind those numbers are real victims, every single one of those vehicles were taken from someone — a family, a commuter, a small business,” said Michael McCarthy, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Newark.

Most of the recovered vehicles had already been reported stolen by their owners. Authorities typically transfer them to agencies such as the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office or New Jersey State Police, which coordinate with insurers. In many cases the vehicles are returned to insurance companies rather than the original owners because claims have already been paid.

The Auto Export Crimes Task Force, established in 2020, has dismantled four transnational criminal organizations since 2021. One group alone accounted for roughly 30% of the vehicles stopped at Port Newark; five of its members were convicted in federal court of conspiring to ship more than 60 stolen vehicles worth $3.5 million to West Africa.

In a related case announced in June, New Jersey prosecutors charged 63 people in connection with an $8 million vehicle theft enterprise. Investigators said leaders of such networks have recruited children as young as 10 to steal cars, using methods that include checking for unlocked doors, carjackings, rental fraud, and sales of vehicles with fake VINs on social media. Some stolen vehicles are used in other crimes before being exported.

The task force issued 534 penalties totaling more than $1.8 million for violations of vehicle export rules. Participating agencies include CBP, Homeland Security Investigations, New Jersey State Police, Port Authority police, the New York Police Department and the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office.

New Jersey’s vehicle theft rate has declined about 20% from the previous year, a State Police official said.

About 150 of the recovered vehicles were stolen in New Jersey; the remainder came from 26 other states, the District of Columbia and at least one from Canada, according to HSI.