The SUVs have been found stripped and abandoned along Philadelphia's walking trails.
Captain Robert McKeever said thieves are quickly removing valuable components before dumping the SUVs in parks and wooded areas.
"They're going to take their fenders, their hoods. They're taking some of their intakes off of their engines," he said. "There's a market. There's a big market."
One of the most recent discoveries was made Sunday at 10:30 a.m. along the Tookany Creek Trail.
McKeever said the theft ring has been operating consistently during overnight hours.
"They're operating in the overnight hours from 2 in the morning to 6 in the morning," he said.
McKeever said investigators have focused on the Honda CRV because thieves can easily repurpose its parts.
"The parts are interchangeable, and there's no VIN numbers on the Honda parts itself," he said, making the components difficult to trace once removed.
Over the last month, roughly 30 stripped vehicles have been recovered.
"Just last week, on Friday, we found four all stolen that morning," said McKeever.
The operation appears organized and efficient, targeting neighborhoods in Northeast Philadelphia and Center City.
"They'll do it in a caravan. There's two or three cars following them at the same time. They take the cars to different areas of the city, strip them down. They have their little headlamps on; they have their power tools. They can probably take apart the car in less than 20 minutes," McKeever said.
Police recommend drivers take preventative steps, including using a steering wheel lock or securing the vehicle's diagnostic port, which thieves use to reprogram key fobs.