Charleston exports tens thousands of automobiles to overseas markets each year.
But the ship never came in for some illegal four-wheeled stowaways.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this week that its officers recovered 59 stolen vehicles from the state-run waterfronts in Charleston and Savannah during the last federal fiscal year.
The ill-gotten vehicles, all packed inside shipping containers, had an estimated domestic retail value of nearly $7.6 million, or $128,771 each, according to the agency.
Among the haul was a 2023 Bentley Continental GT, which can run between $238,325 and $329,000.
The others included sedans, luxury sport utility vehicles and pickups.
Federal officers seized this 2022 Dodge pickup along with a Cadillac at the Port of Charleston on April 13.
All were "acquired through a variety of fraudulent means," the CBP said in a written statement Wednesday. "Some of the vehicles were obtained from car dealerships using fraudulent identities and stolen credit cards, while others were reserved via fraud and later stolen from rental car companies."
The would-be smugglers haven't stopped. Slightly more than halfway into the 2024 fiscal year, CBP said it has intercepted 18 hot cars valued at about $1.1 million "during outbound enforcement operations and inspection of shipping containers" at the South Carolina and Georgia ports.
Earlier this month, for example, agents in Charleston halted the shipments of a 2022 Dodge truck and a 2024 Cadillac sedan. They have a combined sticker price of about $165,000.
CPB said it traced the seized vehicles to Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey and North Carolina. Their final destinations included Ghana, Libya, Jordan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
CPB, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, said the legitimate owners were unaware of what was happening with their cars until they were contacted afterward by government officials.
“Our officers and law enforcement partners have a major role in the battle against transnational criminal organizations,” said Gregory Alvarez, director of field operations for the agency’s Atlanta office. “Intercepting these stolen vehicles allows for victims to recover a significant personal item and disrupts the flow of money to criminal enterprises both foreign and domestic.”
The vehicles that were seized in South Carolina have been turned over to the State Law Enforcement Division.
Car smuggling operations crop up occasionally in Charleston. Several years ago, two associates of an Atlanta company were charged with illegally exporting luxury automobiles from the Holy City to Nigeria after they attempted to bribe undercover officers to ensure their containerized shipments weren’t inspected. One was sentenced to 10 months in prison and the other to time served, according to U.S. District Court records.
Charleston is a major export site for new automobiles. The S.C. State Ports Authority reported shipping out nearly 178,000 vehicles made by BMW in Greer and other manufacturers during its last fiscal year. Most are driven onto large, specially configured "roll-on-roll-off" ships that dock at the Columbus Street Terminal.
