Texas law enforcement officials say they’ve broken up a theft ring that stole over $92,000 worth of taillights from 34 victims. The lights were all removed from Ford F-Series trucks, and the thieves specifically targeted these pickups because each unit was worth several thousand dollars.
Houston-based news outlet FOX26 says that three suspects believed to be part of the crime ring were arrested and charged with “engaging in organized criminal activity.” They allegedly stole the taillights in the I-45 corridor from Galveston to Houston between September 2024 and January 2025. And while catalytic converter theft has become a widely reported issue over the past few years, taillight theft is more obscure.
Removing the lights from a truck is quick, easy, and quiet: thieves simply need to drop the tailgate to access the mounting bolts. “They removed two screws on the inside [of the] tailgate, pulled back the panel, and pulled the latch bars by bypassing the lock. Once the tailgate is down, two screws and the lights pop out,” a Reddit user wrote in 2023. In a car, removing the rear lights usually requires getting access to the trunk…