NEWARK — Nineteen people have been charged in a car theft operation that was shipping stolen vehicles mostly to buyers in western Africa, federal prosecutors in New Jersey said Wednesday.
The arrests disrupted a smuggling operation at New Jersey’s seaports and recovered more than 200 vehicles valued at more than $6 million. Eleven of 19 people charged were arrested by law enforcement were in custody, while another is serving a state prison term on unrelated charges.
The other suspects remained at large Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors said the vehicles were exported through seaports in Newark and Elizabeth and shipped to destinations including Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The vehicles taken included Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs, Audis and Land Rovers, as well as Acuras, Lexuses, Toyotas and Hondas.
Officials said the defendants had joined a complex criminal organization that stole, sold and exported the vehicles. The vehicles were also “retagged” by altering the vehicle identification number and obtaining counterfeit certificates of title.
Authorities said Hope Kantete, known as “the Lady,” was at the center of the organization, and had an extensive customer base overseas. She was charged with three counts of transporting stolen vehicles and one count of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles.
The investigation was conducted by numerous state and federal agencies, including the New Jersey State Police, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the Coast Guard Investigative Service and others.
Authorities said the overseas market for stolen vehicles is growing.