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TRENTON
– Attorney General Anne Milgram and
Criminal Justice Director Deborah L. Gramiccionni
announced that four defendants were indicted
today in connection with a multi-million dollar
car theft network that stole cars from dealerships
in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and shipped
them overseas.
The
four defendants were charged with receiving
stolen cars and loading them into shipping
containers at sites in North Brunswick and
Glassboro for delivery to Port Newark. The
network was shipping cars from Port Newark
to Sierra Leone in West Africa for resale.
The
state grand jury indictment was obtained by
the Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes
Bureau. The bureau previously obtained an
indictment against five men who allegedly
stole high-end cars from dealerships in southern
and central New Jersey to supply to the network.
The
ongoing investigation has linked the criminal
network to more than 150 vehicle thefts from
dealerships in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.
Additional charges are expected.
“This
was a major criminal enterprise, not just
thieves stealing cars from the street and
chopping them for parts,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “Defendants were stealing
high-end cars from dealership lots and fencing
them to other defendants, who shipped them
overseas for resale.”
The
indictments resulted from Operation CarGo,
a multi-state investigation led in New Jersey
by Detective Sgt. Michael Lake of the New
Jersey State Police Auto Unit and Detective
Deborah Kappler of the Cherry Hill Police
Department, working with attorneys from the
New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. They
worked in concert with the Camden County Prosecutor’s
Office, the Office of Pennsylvania Attorney
General Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania State
Police, North Brunswick Police Department,
Philadelphia Police Department, Plymouth Township
(Pa.) Police Department, the FBI in Philadelphia,
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According
to Director Gramiccioni, the Division of Criminal
Justice today obtained two state grand jury
indictments charging each of the following
defendants with receiving stolen property
and theft, both in the second degree:
- Chernor
Bah, 40, of Old Bridge
- Fatmata
Barrie, 35, of Sharon Hill, Pa.
- Abu
Bakarr Kamara, 42, of Chester, Pa.
- Alhaji
Umaru Diallo, 30, of Hyattsville, Md.
Bah
and Barrie allegedly arranged for stolen vehicles
to be brought to Glassboro Auto Salvage and
Storage at 416 East High Street in Glassboro,
where they were loaded into shipping containers
for shipment to Port Newark and ultimately
Africa. They were charged in connection with
five stolen cars, including a 2008 Jaguar
XJ8 worth $37,000.
Kamara
and Diallo allegedly had stolen vehicles brought
to North Brunswick, where they were loaded
into shipping containers at 600 Jersey Avenue
for delivery to Port Newark. They were charged
in connection with five stolen cars, including
two 2007 Audi Q7’s, each worth $46,500,
which were stolen from a dealership in Plymouth
Township, Pa.
Since
October, the Division of Criminal Justice
has obtained five separate indictments charging
these five defendants with the following charges:
- Robert
E. Jordan, 31, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy
(2nd degree), Theft (2nd degree), Attempted
Theft (2nd degree).
- Anwar
J. Carter, 28, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy
(2nd degree), Theft (2nd degree).
- Roderick
Kent McCoombs Jr., 24, of Philadelphia.
Theft (2nd degree).
- Charles
E. Wallace, 24, of Philadelphia. Conspiracy
(2nd degree), Attempted Theft (2nd degree),
Receiving Stolen Property (3rd degree),
Theft (Two counts, both 3rd degree), Eluding
(2nd degree).
- Earl
A. Rouse, 21, of Philadelphia. Theft (Two
counts, both 3rd degree), Attempted Theft
(3rd degree).
Those
five defendants were charged in connection
with thefts or attempted thefts involving
29 cars. Eighteen were high-end cars, including
Porsches, Mercedes, BMWs, Jaguars, Audis and
Land Rovers. The cars were stolen from dealerships
in Cherry Hill, Princeton Township, Lawrence
Township (Mercer County), Maple Shade, Westville,
Woodbury, Turnersville, Pleasantville, Philadelphia
and Springfield, Pa. In most instances, keys
to the cars were stolen from the dealership
and later used to locate and steal the cars
from the dealership lots.
“Through
this highly effective multi-jurisdictional
investigation, we dismantled a major auto
theft ring and are bringing those responsible
to justice,” said Director Gramiccioni.
“The investigating agencies in New Jersey
worked closely with law enforcement in Pennsylvania,
under the leadership of Pennsylvania Attorney
General Tom Corbett.”
Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Edward R. Bonanno
presented today’s indictments to the
grand jury. Deputy Attorney General Christine
A. Hoffman presented the prior indictments.
Attorney General Milgram thanked all of the
participating law enforcement agencies.
Second-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years
in prison and a $150,000 fine, while third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years
in state prison and a $15,000 fine. The indictments
are merely accusations, and the defendants
are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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