Manhattan Beach Police SWAT officers helped take down a suspected luxury car theft crew operating across Los Angeles and Orange counties. The Downey Police Department announced the arrests Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The operation sent SWAT teams to 11 locations simultaneously to serve search warrants. Six people were arrested. Officers recovered nine stolen vehicles and seized more than a dozen firearms, according to Downey police.

Redondo Beach police also sent a SWAT team, making two South Bay departments part of the tactical force. SWAT teams from Downey, South Gate, El Monte, Torrance, Beverly Hills and Gardena police departments joined as well, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Orange County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol.

The Downey Police Department led the investigation, reported by Patch, which ran from about Aug. 7 through Sept. 22.

Downey police said investigators linked the crew to a string of high-end vehicle thefts, multiple police pursuits, a carjacking in Downey and an incident in which a suspect allegedly pointed a handgun at an officer during a traffic stop.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed multiple felony counts against four of the six people arrested. Downey police did not name any of the suspects or specify the charges in their Sept. 30 release.

Statewide thefts declining, but SoCal remains a hotspot

The bust comes as California vehicle thefts have dropped for a second straight year. Statewide thefts fell more than 24% in 2025 to 133,372, the lowest annual total in a decade, according to California Highway Patrol data reported by Hoodline, citing the Orange County Register. Los Angeles County alone recorded 47,191 vehicle thefts in 2025, an 18.6% drop from the prior year.

CHP officials have pointed to expanded crime-suppression operations targeting chop shops, VIN switching and organized theft rings as one factor behind the decline. Still, more than half of California's vehicle thefts occur in Southern California, with Los Angeles County as the primary concentration point, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau data cited in a Mercury Insurance review reported by Insurance Business Magazine in February 2026.

The Manhattan Beach Police Department has not issued a separate statement about its role in the operation.

Anyone with information about the theft ring can contact Downey Police Detective J. Estrada at 562-904-2332 or [email protected]. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS or lacrimestoppers.org.