Mercedes SUVs Disappear as Thieves Target New Jersey, NY

A large ring that had been taking luxury SUV’s and other vehicles from the United States was found in the New Jersey area where they had been loading vehicles for transport outside the US. Not only was this happening in the NJ area, but also in New York:

Thirty-seven percent of the stolen GL Class SUVs areunrecovered, compared with 30 percent for Cadillac Escalades,the National Insurance Crime Bureau said. The figure is lessthan 15 percent for the Nissan Rogue and Ford Explorer,according to the NICB, which released a report today on theftsof 2011-2013 model years in the 48 months ended Dec. 31.

Carjackers and thieves who are paid as much as $8,000 foran auto have been targeting luxury vehicles in New York and NewJersey and working with middlemen who load them into shippingcontainers for transport to West Africa, authorities said Feb.27. Agencies including the New Jersey Attorney Generals Officeannounced charges that day against 29 people in connection witha theft ring.

This ring we took down was a double threat, actingAttorney General John Hoffman said in a statement that day.Its members committed carjackings that put the public in gravedanger, while at the same time, through their fencing andshipping operations, they created demand that motivated othersto commit carjackings.

New Jersey had the highest number of unrecovered SUVs, 368,followed by New York, the data show. The states combined forabout a quarter of the unrecovered thefts in the U.S.

Theres a concentration of wealth in that area, Frank Scafidi, a spokesman for the NICB, said in a phone interview,when asked about the lower recovery rate in the region. Someof that could be a function of access to ports.

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