AVENTUEA, Fla. — Surveillance video captured two thieves covered from head to toe as they made their way onto the property of Hi-Lift Marina early Thursday morning, moving from boat to boat and targeting high-end GPS electronics.

The video shows the pair arriving just after 2:30 a.m. and quickly moving across the docks. In less than 15 minutes, they hit nearly a dozen vessels, stealing expensive Garmin navigation systems and cutting through wires to remove the units. Boats they couldn’t steal from were left damaged.

“You’re talking $1,300 to $6,000 each,” said Mike Vazquez, service general manager at Hi-Lift Marina. “The first boat that got hit lost both screens. Brand new.”

Boat owner Ricardo Herrera said he immediately noticed something was wrong when he arrived later that morning.

“As I walked in, I looked at the GPS — the Garmin was gone — and I was like, what happened?” Herrera said. He soon learned he wasn’t alone. “We start looking, and there were like six or seven boats hit.”

Vazquez said he is aware of at least eight or nine boats targeted during the break-in, leaving some owners of high-end vessels facing thousands of dollars in losses.

“It’s probably $12,000 to $13,000 worth of equipment, forget the damage doing the reinstallation,” he said.

Vazquez said the stolen items can fetch high prices on the black market, but he noted that once owners report the serial numbers to the manufacturer, there’s a good chance the stolen equipment may no longer function.

“The technology is so good right now that you guys are going to be traced back, and you are going to get caught,” Herrera said, directing his message to the thieves.

Aventura Police are investigating. Anyone with information is urged to contact the department immediately.

Experts recommend boat owners bolt down their electronic equipment to make it harder for thieves to remove and always report stolen serial numbers to the manufacturer.

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