By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Hudson County announced that as a result of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Port of New York/Newark, a total of seven stolen vehicles were recovered on September 21.
Authorities say all of these were destined for Western African countries, with an estimated value of $395,967.
“This operation underscores our relentless commitment to maintaining law and order and should serve as a warning to those exporting stolen vehicles that law enforcement is actively taking action to disrupt their criminal enterprise,” said Sheriff Schillari.
“Thank you to the great men and women from my office, as well as Homeland Security and Customs agents, for their hard work and once again proving their dedication to deterring transnational criminal activities.”
Sheriff Frank Schillari stated that this operation aimed to detect and recover stolen vehicles being shipped out of the United States and was carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the New Jersey State Police, the New York Police Department (NYPD) Auto Crime Unit, the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) - Criminal Investigation Bureau, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Officials said in order to combat the flow of stolen vehicles out of the United States and dismantle the transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) profiting from the illicit activity within the United States and abroad, HSI Newark, HCSO, PAPD, and CBP, operating under the HSI Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) model, created an Auto Export Crimes Task Force.
“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to stop criminal activity impacting our communities and prevent the flow of profits going to the organizations behind the crimes,” said Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Newark.
“Operation Terminus is an initiative to target stolen vehicles being exported out of the United States and, once interdicted, identify and investigate the perpetrators responsible for the criminal networks behind these stolen vehicles, oftentimes leading to other crimes being committed and negatively affecting our neighborhoods.”
Stolen Vehicles Recovered, officials stated:
-2020 Ford F-150 Raptor - $56,028.00
-2021 Ford F150 Raptor - $73,805.00
-2023 Hyundai Sante Fe - $37,037.00
-2023 Dodge Ram 1500 Bighorn - $55,413.00
-2022 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie - $57,935.00
-2020 Range Rover Sport - $64,933.00
-2019 Audi Q8 - $50,816.00
