MORRIS COUNTY

Morris-related high-end carjacking, car theft ring busted

Peggy Wright
@PeggyWrightDR

TOTOWA - A parking valet holding the keys to a pricey Bentley Continental GT and Mercedes S550 outside an upscale Italian restaurant in Hanover was among the victims of an international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that authorities said was dismantled after a 16-month investigation.

Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp in attendance as acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced the takedown of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars from suburban communities in northern and central New Jersey and New York. Approximately 90 stolen vehicles recovered and 21 individuals charged. October 28, 2015, Totowa, NJ.

State acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman hosted a news conference Wednesday at the State Police barracks in Totowa where, flanked by more than two dozen law enforcement representatives, including Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp, he detailed how "Operation 17 Corridor" resulted in the takedown Tuesday of 18 men on first-degree charges of racketeering and other offenses, such as carjacking, conspiracy to commit carjacking and money laundering.

Arrest warrants have been issued for another three men, among the 21 suspects whose photographs were displayed on a chart at the news conference and grouped into categories that defined their illegal jobs as leaders, shippers and high-level fences, street-level fences, carjackers, car thieves and wheelmen.

SEE PHOTOS: Mug shots of 21 charged in international luxury car theft ring http://dailyre.co/1Mj8OFQ

The probe resulted in the recovery of 90 vehicles valued at more than $4 million.  Among the high-end cars stolen in Morris County were an Audi SUV in Madison and the forcible taking of a 2015 Mercedes S550 and a 2015 Bentley Continental GT valued at $204,000, which were parked in front of what authorities said was Il Capriccio Ristorante on Route 10 in Hanover.

This $204,000 Bently Continental GT was carjacked by three men at Il Capriccio Ristorante in Whippany. Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announce today the takedown of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars from suburban communities in northern and central New Jersey and New York. Approximately 90 stolen vehicles recovered and 21 individuals charged. October 28, 2015, Totowa, NJ.

In that incident on Oct. 6, three carjackers in a black BMW drove into the parking lot of the restaurant, and one gunman ordered the parking valet to give him the keys to the Bentley and Mercedes.  Derrick Moore, 36, of Keansburg has been charged with conspiracy to commit carjacking in connection with that crime, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Operation 17 Corridor was a follow-up stolen car trafficking investigation to Operation Jacked, which ended in 2014 with the arrests of several men who largely operated in Newark and the Essex County area.  Hoffman said that Operation 17 Corridor focused on thieves and carjackers working in an organized fashion to target luxury vehicles in suburban areas, including Morris County, and ship those cars to West Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea and Gambia.

Popular vehicles sought were various models of Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Maserati, Porsche, Jaguar and Bentley, Hoffman said, noting that a scarcity of auto dealerships along with a desire for status makes those vehicles hot commodities in those countries, where the cars will fetch double or triple their American selling prices.

Hoffman said the vehicles taken by force through carjackings in the latest investigation were "in the minority."  There were no homicides or serious assaults connected to the stolen cars in Operation 17 Corridor,  but there were face-to-face confrontations. Theft methods that did not involve face-to-face confrontations or violence included stealing idling cars from gas stations, convenience stores, car washes and airports.  The thieves prowled wealthy neighborhoods to find luxury cars unlocked with the key fob in the glove compartment or used phony or stolen credit cards to rent desired vehicles from rental car agencies and never returned them, Hoffman said.

He provided examples of other harrowing encounters:  On Sept. 12, 2014, a man sitting in his black Mercedes S550 in the parking lot at The Mills at Jersey Gardens shopping mall in Elizabeth was approached by a man with his face masked from nose to chin.  He pointed a gun at the Mercedes owner, ordered him out of the car and to leave behind all his belongings, including keys, iPhone, iPad, wallet and credit cards.  The man was not hurt, and the robber hopped into the car and sped off.

On Sept. 25, 2014, another owner of a black Mercedes S550 was in his car when he was approached by a gunman at The Outlet Collection Mall in Elizabeth.  The man was told to get out of his car and keep walking, or he'd be shot.

On Aug. 24,  a man walking toward his 2014 BMW 650i in front of his Montclair home was approached and ordered to turn over his car keys.  The robber, who attempted to hide his face with his T-shirt, reached behind his back as though he had a gun in his waistband.  The victim turned over his keys and ran away.  The alleged carjacker has been identified as Nasir Turner, 36, of Newark, the Attorney General's Office said.

All the defendants will be prosecuted in state Superior Court in Morristown by deputy attorneys general, and Judge Stephen Taylor is scheduled to conduct bail reviews on Friday on the suspects held in the Morris County Jail in lieu of bails that range from $100,000 to $1 million.

Of the 90 vehicles recovered, 23 were found at ports, including Port Newark, Port Elizabeth, Global Terminal in Bayonne and the Howland Hook Seaport in Staten Island.  The ring operated out of Rockland County, New York,  and in New Jersey, including Morris, Bergen, Essex, Union, Monmouth, Middlesex, Hunterdon and Somerset counties.

Hoffman credited the persistence of law enforcement agencies who worked the case and said that while a major car theft ring has been broken, he could never say carjacking or car thefts would not occur again. But he noted that Operation Jacked, the predecessor to Operation 17 Corridor, reduced the number of carjackings and car thefts in Newark by two-thirds.

"It is easy to see what motivated these car thieves given the illicit profits that were made on each of the luxury cars," Hoffman said. "From a $4,000 to $8,000 payoff for thieves and lower-level fences to potential payoffs of upwards of six figures to those at the top of this criminal organization."

He also highlighted how technology in vehicles -- electronic key fobs -- have changed how cars are stolen.

"It was absolutely critical to the resale value of the cars oversea that the thieves obtain the electronic key fobs. ... What this means is that the days of hot-wiring cars are gone. By definition, the modern car thief needs to commit a carjacking or steal a car by a method that gets him the key.  Many times, unfortunately and dangerously, that means an armed confrontation with the driver or a strong-arm robbery," Hoffman said.

"The joy-riding youths we heard about 10, 20 years ago -- that's gone," he said. "The days of kids hot-wiring cars and driving around the corner ditching the cars seems to be over and replaced by strong-armed bandits who use the most dangerous and violent methodologies to target the wealthiest of vehicles and ship them abroad."

The names of the suspects and their roles in the alleged criminal enterprise or racketeering, which refers to engaging in an organized pattern of crime, are as follows:

Leaders: Tyja Evans, 39, of Watchung; Ibn Jones, 37, of Newark; Eddie Craig, 36, of Beverly in Burlington County.

Shippers and high-level fences: Peter Cleland, 32, of East Orange; Sowah Anan, 31, of Elizabeth; Manuel Oliveres, 44, of Jersey City; Adama Fofana, 53, of  the Bronx; Alpha Jalloh, 26, of New York City.

Higher-level fence and retagger of vehicles: Panel Dalce, 43, of South Orange.

Street-level fences: Frazier Gibson, 29, of East Orange; Eric Aikens, 40, of Newark; Lavell Burnett, 38, of Newark; Damion Mikell, 32, of Newark.

Carjackers, car thieves and/or wheelmen: Nasir Turner, 36, of Newark; Derrick Moore, 36, of Keansburg; Kenneth Daniels, 29, of Newark; Tyree Johnson, 22, of Newark; Donnel Carroll, 28, of Newark; Khalil Culbreath, 38, of Newark; Terrence Wilson, 39, of Newark; and Marquis Price, 32, of Newark.

Daniels, Carroll and Culbreath have yet to be apprehended though warrants have been issued for their arrests.

The agencies that participated in the investigation, under the leadership of the State Police and state Division of Criminal Justice (a division of the Attorney General's Office) are: the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department; ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Newark; Morris, Essex and Bergen county prosecutor's offices; Demarest, Paramus, South Orange, Hanover and Linden police departments; U.S. Customs & Border Protection; Essex and Hudson County sheriff's offices; U.S. Marshals Service; and the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

   Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.

This $204,000 Bently Continental GT was carjacked by three men at Il Capriccio Ristorante in Whippany. Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announce today the takedown of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars from suburban communities in northern and central New Jersey and New York. Approximately 90 stolen vehicles recovered and 21 individuals charged. October 28, 2015, Totowa, NJ.
Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announces the takedown of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars from suburban communities in northern and central New Jersey and New York. Approximately 90 stolen vehicles recovered and 21 individuals charged. October 28, 2015, Totowa, NJ.
Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announces the takedown of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars from suburban communities in northern and central New Jersey and New York. Approximately 90 stolen vehicles recovered and 21 individuals charged. October 28, 2015, Totowa, NJ.
Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman, c, announces the takedown of a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole luxury cars from suburban communities in northern and central New Jersey and New York. Approximately 90 stolen vehicles recovered and 21 individuals charged. October 28, 2015, Totowa, NJ.