MOVE ALONG, NOTHING TO SEE HERE: Feds: Eight metro Detroit men charged in sophisticated vehicle theft, smuggling operation.
Eight metro Detroit men are accused in a sophisticated theft and international smuggling operation that targeted higher-end vehicles and spanned two years, according to federal prosecutors in Detroit.
An indictment against the Wayne County men was unsealed Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
The types of stolen vehicles mentioned in the indictment included BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Bronco, Range Rover, Dodge Ram, Ford Mustang, Ford F-150 and Dodge Durango. Stolen vehicles were transported from Michigan to New Jersey*, according to the indictment.
The Detroit Free Press takes its time getting to the important details — the number of cars stolen, and the names of the suspects:
Matthew Stentz, acting special agent in charge of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit, said more than 350 stolen vehicles were recovered.**
“This case hits even closer to home in a state like Michigan, where auto theft doesn’t just hurt our wallets, but our culture,” Stentz said in the release. “Our HSI special agents and law enforcement partners will continue to do the work necessary to take down these operations that harm everyday Americans.”
Federal prosecutors said Dearborn police initiated the investigation, which also involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations with help from Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and other local, regional and federal law enforcement agencies.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit identified those charged as Haydar Al Haydari, 41, of Garden City; David Roshinsky Williams, 32, of Harper Woods; Abbas Al Othman, 42, and Moustapha Al Fetlawi, 46, both of Dearborn Heights, and Karar Alnakash, 43; Mohammed Al Hilo, 36; Terrill Davis, 33, and Mohammed Al Abboodi, 35, all of Detroit.
* They didn’t stay in New Jersey, as this sentence buried 12 paragraphs in notes: “The smugglers’ goal, it indicated, was to ship and sell the stolen vehicles overseas, often to customers in the Middle East.”
** Quite a bit more than 350, according to Fox’s Detroit affiliate: “‘We are looking at right now at least 400 vehicles that have been seized involved in this incident alone, with a value of over $400 million,’ said Dearborn Police Corporal Dan Bartok. Many were sent overseas to countries like Iraq and Dubai were some of the destinations. Even Jordan and Ghana were involved, with forged paperwork used to get the vehicles out of town. In one case, shipping containers full of high-end SUVs were disguised as antifreeze.”
As one wag joked on Twitter/X, “What’s news is that there are car theft rings not run by Albanians:”