Operation Hellcat was a year-long investigation tracking a group who created new car keys using Autel programming devices
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- 12 men in Massachusetts have been charged in connection with the theft of high-end cars worth more than $2.6 million.
- Brockton PD and 37 other local and federal agencies joined forces for the year-long Operation Hellcat investigation.
- The gang used programming devices to create new keys for cars they would then steal from dealerships.
Operation Hellcat sounds like the kind of 1950s war movie Quentin Tarantino might have parodied in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but that’s the name of an investigation that has resulted in 12 Massachusetts men being charged in connection with a car theft epidemic.
The year-long program was a joint operation involving 38 local and federal enforcement agencies including the Enterprise and Major Crimes Division (EMCD), the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and the Brockton Police Department (BPD) looking into at least 63 vehicle thefts from dealers totaling more than $2.6 million.
Related: Teen Girl Arrested After Alleged Hellcat, TRX, And Corvette Heist At Dealership
Investigators allege that the 12 men worked in groups of between two and 10 to break into dealerships in the early hours of the morning. Once inside, they used Autel programming devices to turn blank keys into fully functioning versions they could then use to steal cars that included, as the name of the operation suggests, Hellcat-powered Dodges.
Brockton PD recorded a series of thefts between June 16, 2023 and November 2024, one of which, in Quincy, saw eight cars disappear at once. But the Autel device that helped them pinch the cars was also their downfall. The units require user authentication, and that info, along with cellular data, surveillance footage, social media posts, and confessions was used by police to identify and track participants.
When cops busted 11 addresses in Brockton, Fall River, and North Easton they found Autel devices, key fobs, license plates, a stolen Hellcat supercharger unit and an entire Dodge Charger Hellcat. Also discovered were multiple firearms and ammunition, plus switch components to convert semi-automatic weapons into fully-automatic types.
Nine of the men are just 20 years-old or younger, and the group was bailed for amounts between $1,000 and $100,000. Another man wanted in connection with the theft ring has an outstanding warrant and has yet to be arrested.
The arrests shine a flattering light on Brockton PD at a time when it’s mired in a scandal over cocaine use by cops. Brockton Police Captain Arthur McNulty is suing the city, Police Chief Brenda Pérez and Mayor Robert F. Sullivan over the consumption of narcotics inside the police HQ and cronyism, The Enterprise reports.
