23 Stolen Vehicles Nabbed By Hudson County Sheriff Before Being Sent From Newark To Africa

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — The question of "Dude, where's my car?" almost had answers such as Togo, Ghana, and Monrovia — until a team of New Jersey law enforcement agencies foiled a plot to ship 23 vehicles from Newark across the ocean.

Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari announced on Friday that as a result of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Port of New York/Newark, a total of 23 stolen vehicles were recovered recently. They were all destined to be sent to Western African countries (Togo, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Monrovia, and Liberia), they said.

The stolen vehicles had an estimated value of $1.33 million, officials said.

Additionally, 109 rounds of various caliber ammunition were found concealed in a vehicle destined for Nigeria, the sheriff's office said Friday.

"Operation Terminus," a five-day operation that aimed to detect and recover stolen vehicles being shipped out of the United States, began on Feb. 13 and was carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port Authority, New Jersey State Police, and several other agencies that are part of an Auto Export Task Force.

“This was an excellent example of the effectiveness of our combined efforts to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that target our citizens as well as our nation's borders, and hopefully serves as a warning to those exporting stolen vehicles,” said Sheriff Schillari on Friday.

“Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to stop criminal activity impacting our communities and prevent the flow of profits going to the organizations behind the crimes,” said Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge for HSI Newark.