HOBOKEN — A group of SUVs were stolen from a Hoboken lot this week, but authorities said the vehicles were locked in “transport” mode and would have only been able to reach a top speed of 25 miles per hour after they were swiped.
An Academy Bus employee who noticed a busted open gate on a Manhattan Auto Group car lot, 700 Observer Hwy., called police just after 6 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 15.
Police found that the gate’s chain had been cut and a portion of the perimeter fence had been knocked down. They also found a Range Rover Sport with front end damage idling by the entrance.
The operations manager for Manhattan Auto Group arrived at the scene and told police seven 2010 Range Rover Sports were taken. He said the vehicles were in “transport” mode and could only travel between 15 and 25 miles per hour.
He told police the total value of the heist was roughly $420,000.
A security guard told police he checked the lot at 5 a.m. and found nothing out of the ordinary. A security camera had stopped working at 9 p.m. the night prior to the heist, he told police.
According to local news reports, police found the vehicles in Newark. Police were not immediately available for questions. – TJC