Multiple luxury vehicles were stolen from car dealerships in Evanston and Naperville over the past week by what appears to be an organized ring of thieves, police said.
Evanston police were dispatched to the Autobarn Volkswagen in the 1000 block of Chicago Avenue around 12:15 a.m. Friday in response to a disturbance reported in an adjacent alley. The manager at Patrick Jaguar and Land rover says four cars were stolen from the Naperville dealership last week.
Upon arrival at the Evanston dealership, no one was found, but officers discovered a door of the car dealership had been forced open, police said.
Inside the dealership, police found an unoccupied vehicle that had been left running. The office where the dealership’s keys were kept had also been broken into, police said.
Autobarn’s manager was notified by police and soon confirmed at least three BMWs were missing from the dealership: X4, 335, and X2 models.
Two of the cars were recovered by authorities Friday morning.
Chicago police found the X4 and 335 models near Lake Shore Drive and Fullerton Avenue in the city’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Police also found one of the Naperville Jaguars in Chicago.
No one is in custody. Investigation into the incident is ongoing. Detectives are working with management of the dealership as they continue to go through its inventory to see if any additional vehicles were stolen.
