NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Eleven people have been arrested in connection with an auto theft ring in New Jersey.
According to Attorney General Matthew Platkin, the group would target high-end vehicles — like Land Rovers, Mercedes Benzes and BMWs — burglarize homes to get the key fobs needed to steal the cars, store the vehicles in parking garages in the Bronx, New York, and ship them to West African countries.
Theft crews, Platkin said, were paid for the stolen vehicles with cash from money wired from West Africa to the mid-level and high-level fences.
According to Platkin, stolen vehicles that were originally located in garages on Jennings Street and Third Avenue in the Bronx were later recovered from shipping containers at ports in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Staten Island, New York.
The group is alleged to have stolen at least 43 vehicles valued at over $3.6 million.
All 11 members have been charged with first-degree racketeering.