"African Family & Community Picnic - Sat, July 17, 1pm – 8pm at ELVER PARK"
U.S. to Senegal car theft ring busted, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says
BY Rob Sgobbo, Joe Jackson and Brendan Brosh
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Wednesday, June 30th 2010, 2:03 PM
Updated: Wednesday, June 30th 2010, 4:15 PM
Florescu for NewsSuspects in 'sophisticated' car theft ring are led
into Bronx Supreme Court, charged with brazenly snatching vehicles in
tristate area and reselling them abroad and in the States. Related
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carAuthorities have slammed the brakes on a "steal-to-order" car theft
ring that brazenly swiped SUVs from streets, garages and dealerships
and shipped them overseas.
Thieves snatched Toyotas, Mercedes-Benzes, BMWs, Infinities and Range
Rovers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to resell in Africa and
the U.S., state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
"They had a sophisticated operation, but we had a sophisticated
collaboration with the police force," Cuomo told reporters.
The NYPD, state police and attorney general's Organized Crime Task
Force snared 17 exporters, "steal men," brokers, a garage attendant
and two Toyota dealership employees after a year-long investigation.
One suspect is still on the loose, but the rest were arraigned
yesterday in Bronx Supreme Court on charges that include enterprise
corruption, stolen property and forgery.
The ring is accused of swiping more than 450 vehicles in the past year
in a scheme that could have been a sequel to "Gone in 60 Seconds."
Orders were placed with the "steal crew" specifying make, model, year,
color and even accessories.
The crew searched for a car that matched, then lifted it using a key
taken from a Toyota dealership or a laptop to reprogram the cars and
keys.
The hot wheels were then stashed for a few days at one of four parking
garages in the Bronx to be sure they didn't have tracking devices.
Eventually, the cars were given new vehicle identification numbers and
ID tags and shipped via the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in
crates marked "household goods."
Buyers in Senegal paid $25,000 or more for the cars. Others went to
buyers in the tristate area as well as Georgia and Texas.
Investigators suspect the buyers were wealthy professionals who
apparently preferred silver bodies and leather interiors.
Prosecutors identified the ringleader as Babacar (Bobby) Lo, who owns
a body shop in the Bronx. He was ordered held without bail.
Lo's wife, Yaye, denied he was involved with the ring.
"No, I don't think so," she said. "He would never do something like that."
Workers at a garage on E.143rd St. also were baffled by the
accusations against colleague Ali Abdou, 53, who had worked there for
seven years.
"It's a surprise," said Bobby Arjuna. "This guy never do things like
that. He just works the nights."
Other recently busted car theft rings in New Jersey and California
were shipping stolen cars to West Africa, China and the Dominican
Republic.
With Katie Nelson
Read more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/06/30/2010-06-30_us_to_senegal_car_theft_ring_busted_attorney_general_andrew_cuomo_says.html#ixzz0tg9qhuRh
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Mathew Jallow <[log in to unmask]>:
> "African Family & Community Picnic - Sat, July 17, 1pm – 8pm at ELVER PARK"
>
> Hmmmmmm. Bad idea. As if the Somali's will stand for this reporters's
> crap. If you know the Somali's, you will know they will not take this
> b--lcrap lying down. Have a better idea; ????????????. What the heck am
> I talking about? I have no clue.
>
>
>
> Quoting f ossia <[log in to unmask]>:
>
>> "African Family & Community Picnic - Sat, July 17, 1pm – 8pm at ELVER PARK"
>>
>>
>> You may find this interesting, may be even controversial.
>> Enjoy it!
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>> Felix
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>> http://www.hiiraan.com/op2/2008/oct/why_kenya_and_ethiopia_ought_to_annex_and_divide_somalia.aspx
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>> _________________________________________________________________
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