A stolen BMW is back with its rightful owner in Westford after police used a high-tech gadget to track its location 50 miles away in Quincy.
Massachusetts State Police launched a dart fitted with a GPS tracking device onto the back of the stolen SUV last weekend using a technology called StarChase.
The agency just began using the tracker technology in May and has seen a high success rate.
In this latest case, it allowed police to close in on the stolen vehicle’s exact location without a high-speed chase escalating.
A police report said authorities arrested six suspects after troopers caught up with the BMW X3.
“It seemed like something straight out of Star Wars!,” the car owner told Boston 25 News, praising police and the technology. “It gave me confidence that they were doing an excellent job of trying to find my car.”
The BMW’s owner said the car thieves took off after he left the key in his unlocked vehicle.
Authorities tracked it in Revere using license plate recognition cameras before State Police got the upper hand with StarChase technology.