MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Leaving a luxury car unlocked with the key fob inside makes it an easy target — thieves can snatch it, ship it overseas and cash in millions.

But police in Miami Beach are working around the clock to stop this full-blown operation and protect its residents.

Ania Goldberg told Local 10 News that she remembers the first time one of her vehicles -- a Volvo XC90 -- was stolen even though it’s already been years.

“One evening, I had left the keys in the car, and woke up the next morning -- the car was missing. It had been stolen directly out of our driveway,” she said.

Sadly, her story was not one and done as thieves targeted her two more times.

Police recovered one of her vehicles pretty badly damaged.

“It was at a tow yard in South Miami, and when we called the tow yard, they said the police had brought it in -- it was left on the side of the highway somewhere down south,” Goldberg said.

The last vehicle that was stolen from her was a BMW X7.

Goldberg said she doesn’t think they’ll ever find that one.

“The key was left in the car, but it was during broad daylight, 7 p.m. -- kids, nanny, people home, people walking their dogs, and it had been raining earlier, which is why I got out of the car quickly,” she said.

You’d think Goldberg’s story is unique, but think again.

Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones said earlier this year, his team noticed an uptick in luxury car thefts.

And the pattern is clear: thieves target unlocked cars, with keys inside, mostly at night.

Jones said he didn’t want the trend to continue, so his department has developed an informational campaign, with signs on the street, videos on social media showing how these thefts happen, and speaking with residents one-on-one.

Jones said the thieves rip out the GPS’s out of the vehicles and ship them overseas, selling them for significantly more than they’re worth in South Florida.

The chief has a team working on how to take down what he calls an extremely well-organized and complex criminal ring.

“I’ll tell you, it’s a clever operation, quite frankly,” he said. “Many of the folks stealing cars are juveniles. And that’s done by design. Because the folks, the masterminds behind these operations, they understand that juveniles simply get slapped on the wrist.”

Exclusive body-worn camera video shows one of those teenage arrests.

A juvenile was grabbed by police at 3 a.m. after detectives say he stole a wallet from inside an open car.

He was getting ready to race away with the car itself when cops saw him.

“We have determined, in some cases, these kids come with shopping lists -- type of car, year they want to steal, and they go out shopping for (them), knowing that at some point they will find that car unlocked (with) the key fob in it,” Jones said.

Jones says behind these kids are adult puppeteers.

His “Operation Tourniquet” is designed to stop the bleeding, putting an end to car thefts. And “Operation Joyride” is meant to make arrests.

“And they will sell a $250,000 car for $5,000 to someone who then sells it for $25,000, who then sells it for $50,000, who then sells it to the end buyer user for $75,000, $250,000,” Jones explained.

Everybody in between makes money and everybody wins except the victim.

It’s all about the money, and the masterminds of the scheme may not even be in Florida, Jones said.

So far, Miami Beach police say they have recovered more than $5 million worth of exotic vehicles and have arrested 27 suspects.

“The reason it’s so difficult to do is it takes resources, it takes planning, it takes coordination, it takes partnerships with other agencies, right?” Jones said.

But the chief says the real solution starts with car owners themselves.

“Almost 100% of cars that’ve been stolen in recent months is a direct result of people leaving the key fobs in the car,” he said.

That brings us back to Goldberg who said she’s sickened by it all.

“It’s disheartening that you can’t make an accident like that because you might get your car stolen,” she said.

Jones said once a car gets shipped away, it’s impossible to get it back.

The chief says just this year, thieves have stolen 116 luxury cars in Miami Beach.

His team has recovered and returned 51 of them, and he believes his outreach program is working.

“But I can tell you, I am pleasantly surprised that many of the cars are locked,” he said.

Credit also goes to his team that is dedicated to making Miami Beach safe for neighbors and visitors.

And while luxury car theft is a national problem, Miami Beach police are making waves locally and across the country.

The chief says this is the first department to take such a detailed approach to disrupting these schemes. Other agencies are now reaching out to learn how they’re doing it. And even though detectives are still working these cases, the chief says he’s proud to see car thefts down 34 percent so far this year.

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