Police: Gang members targeted luxury cars for theft

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities say Chicago street gang members targeted luxury cars located in the city's suburbs for theft and use in other crimes.

Chicago police say at least 70 vehicles, including BMWs and Range Rovers, were stolen by a loosely organized theft ring this year. Most of the vehicles have been recovered on the city's South Side.

Authorities say the thieves entered unlocked cars and used keys or fobs they found inside cup holders or consoles to drive away.

Police say they have arrested about 15 suspects, most of them juvenile gang members.

Chicago Police Lt. Ed Wodnicki says authorities learned details of the thefts when they set up a successful sting to recover a stolen computer. A man arrested confessed to the computer theft and told of the car theft scheme.