ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — WFTV went along as Orange County deputies recovered luxury cars stolen from a local dealer.
Some of the 16 BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars stolen from the Auto Express dealership on Goldenrod Road were discovered beat up and abandoned across town in Pine Hills.
"This particular one, our fugitive unit was looking for a wanted subject. In the process, they discovered one of the cars that was missing," said Paul Warner of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Eleven of the stolen cars, including a $16,000 SUV, have been recovered. Five others are unaccounted for. The total value of the missing cars is $73,000.
Nearby surveillance cameras caught the criminals scoping out the car lot, and then, minutes later, showed one of them ramming a stolen car into the fence surrounding the lot repeatedly in an effort to get away.
Deputies said the thieves also broke into the dealership's office which they ransacked.
While inside, they kicked in every door in the office in an effort to find the keys for the cars, according to investigators.
Naz Shami, one of the dealership's owners, said he thought he had enough security.
"We did, but it was breached," said Shami.
Detectives said at least six people are involved.
The car thieves also took tags from nearby vehicles and put them on the stolen cars.
"The end product, what we would like to see is the criminals behind bars," said Shami.
The owner of the business said he's not sure how much insurance will cover.
Shami said that in the end, the consumers will suffer because he'll have to pass the cost on to those buying cars.