West
Trenton, New Jersey – New Jersey State
Police in cooperation with 15 other law
enforcement agencies conducted an intense
3 month investigation dubbed Operation “Auto
Export.” This investigation led to
the serving of 8 arrest warrants targeting
individuals involved in the theft and/or
exporting of stolen vehicles. During the
course of this investigation 72 high-end
vehicles estimated at over 2.55 million
dollars were identified.
Teams
of troopers and officers served arrest warrants
on suspects from New Jersey, New York, Maryland
and Virginia who have been targeted in this
investigation. Charges against them ranged
from leader of an auto theft trafficking
network, receiving stolen property, fencing
and conspiracy.
During the execution of arrest and search
warrants today, over ten thousand dollars
and three more vehicles were seized. Arrest
teams processed subjects at NJSP Totowa
Headquarters and once processed the arrestees
were transported to Essex County Jail pending
arraignments over the next couple of days.
“With
today’s arrests and searches, we delivered
a crippling blow to this multi-million dollar
auto theft ring,” said Attorney General
Milgram. “These were not old-fashioned
car thieves, chopping cars for parts. This
was big business, with the thieves stealing
high-end cars and shipping them overseas.
Today’s arrests are the result of
outstanding teamwork by members of more
than a dozen state, local and federal agencies
from inside and outside New Jersey, who
worked together seamlessly across state
lines under the leadership of the New Jersey
State Police.”
“This brazen group of auto thieves
and fences would stop at nothing to further
this international criminal ring,”
said Colonel Rick Fuentes. “They stole
rental cars, utilized document fraud and
even resorted to armed carjacking to feed
their client’s appetite for stolen
luxury vehicles.” “There’s
no telling into who’s hands these
vehicles would have ended up once they were
sent to Egypt, Jordan, or other overseas
destinations,” Fuentes added.
This intense investigation, starting in
April 2007, revealed that groups from New
Jersey, New York, Maryland and Virginia,
with associations to Florida and Texas were
delivering stolen vehicles to the Ports
of Newark and Elizabeth to be exported to
Greece, Jordan, Egypt, and various entry
ports in West Africa.
The
vehicles being shipped overseas would sell
for substantially higher, almost double,
than the manufactures’ market value
in the United States. Many of these vehicles
were either stolen or overdue rental vehicles,
while others were obtained by car-jacking,
insurance fraud or identity theft.
The
investigation revealed that the identified
groups would purchase a portion of the vehicles
from an auto theft fencing ring operating
out of East Orange, New Jersey. The fencing
group, allegedly run by Troy Turner, was
responsible for over 30 of the 72 vehicles
identified in this investigation.
One
example of the thefts conducted by Turner,
and his accomplices, would be to enter a
long term parking facility in one vehicle
and leave with numerous luxury vehicles,
and in turn sell them on a first come first
serve basis.
This
auto theft fencing ring is the largest and
most profitable to date to be dismantled.
"This
outstanding joint investigation between
ICE and the New Jersey State Police brought
down a vehicle theft ring that allegedly
used violent carjacking, credit card and
insurance fraud in order to attempt the
illegal export of at least 72 high priced
motor vehicles," said Kyle Hutchins,
special agent in charge for the ICE office
of investigations in Newark. "The arrests
and vehicle seizures represent an outstanding
example of how ICE can use our authority
in customs investigations to benefit the
community in tackling complex cross-border
criminal enterprises."
“This
case is a prime example of the importance
of cooperation across multiple jurisdictions.
That cooperation must start at the top,
and Attorney General Milgram and Superintendent
Fuentes led the way in executing a successful
collaborative investigation,” said
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Police Department Superintendent Samuel
J. Plumeri, Jr.
Some
of the high-end cars include:
-
Mercedes Acura Lexus Infinity Hummer H3
Nissan Maxima GMC Denali Jeep
- Escalade
Mini Cooper Pathfinder Audi
- Land
Rover Range Rover Chevy Suburban Volkswagen
Touareg BMW
- Nissan
Murano Cherokee
Partnering
Agencies is this Investigation:
- New
Jersey State Police Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE)
- Maryland
State Police Diplomatic Security Service
- NJ/NY
Port Authority Newark Police Department
- National
Insurance Crime Bureau Woodbridge Police
Department
- New
York Police Department Social Security
Administration
- East
Orange Police Department Montgomery County
Police Department
- New
Jersey Division of Criminal Justice NJ
Department of Corrections
- NJ/NY
Waterfront Commission US Secret Service
Pictures
of Suspects I Arrest
List (75k pdf) plug-in
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