Overview
- Federal prosecutors unsealed a 12-count indictment on Sept. 4 in U.S. District Court in Detroit naming eight Wayne County men.
- From July 2023 through August 2025, the defendants allegedly packed stolen high-end vehicles into shipping containers and moved them by rail or freight to port cities, including routes to New Jersey, for overseas shipment.
- Investigators report recovering more than 350 stolen vehicles during the investigation initiated by Dearborn police with HSI, CBP and the FBI.
- The indictment describes six defendants as smugglers and two as brokers who used freight forwarders and false shipping manifests to disguise container contents.
- Each defendant faces one conspiracy count and one or more transportation-of-stolen-vehicle counts, carrying maximum penalties of five and ten years respectively with up to $250,000 fines, and all are presumed innocent.