Matawan Hit By Luxury Car Theft Ring

MATAWAN, NJ — On Monday, New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced her office, working with other agencies, dismantled a car theft ring that stole a total of 90 luxury cars from wealthy suburban New Jersey towns in the past year.

One of those towns was Matawan, said the Attorney General.

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All 90 car thefts happened in the past year, from June 2025 to June 2026, said the Attorney General. The ring targeted BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris and Range Rovers. The 90 cars stolen have a total value of $8 million.

Once they were stolen, the cars were taken to a shipping yard in Irvington. The Attorney General did not reveal the location, only describing the lot as "fenced in" and that it was large enough to have a warehouse on site.

Many of the stolen cars were stored there, and re-sold to private buyers in Ghana and Nigeria. The ring also used a location in the Bronx to store stolen cars.

From the Bronx and Irvington lots, the cars were loaded onto containers at the Port of Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal and shipped to West Africa.

On Monday, Davenport announced her office filed criminal charges against 63 people involved in the ring, including three minors under the age of 18. The ring used the three teens to steal the cars. All 63 people criminally charged are listed here: njoag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2026-0629_Auto-Theft_Enterprise_Chart_of_charges.pdf

The teens often broke into homes to get the key fobs for the luxury cars, said the AG. One of the crews allegedly committed an armed car robbery in Newark in the past year.

Fatim Wingate, 26, and Brian J. Peppers, 35, both of Newark, were the ringleaders, said Davenport. They oversaw operations and they were the two main "fencers" of the ring, meaning they purchased the stolen cars and then authorized them to be re-sold, said the Attorney General.

Adamu Alhassan, 28, of Newark, and Standford Oduro, 55, of Newark, allegedly ran the Irvington lot.

State Police said they found multiple stolen luxury cars inside shipping containers at the Port of Newark, and they were able to trace the cars back to the Irvington shipping yard. Detectives said they observed Oduro receiving stolen cars at the yard, and then driving the cars into a warehouse on the lot. Detectives said they also observed Oduro personally drive the cars into the shipping containers.

Luxury cars were stolen from the following North Jersey suburban towns, and local police from all these towns worked with the State Police and NJ Attorney General to dismantle the ring: Bernards, Berkeley Heights, Chatham, Elizabeth, Matawan, Middletown, Millburn, Paramus, Scotch Plains, Summit, Union, Waldwick, Wall, Warren, Woodbridge and Westfield.

Luxury cars were also stolen from Newark and Manhattan.

Detectives on Davenport's team worked with New Jersey State Police to dismantle the ring, specifically State Police Police Motor Vehicle Crimes North unit. The Attorney General also worked with the Office of the NJ Insurance Fraud Prosecutor, the Bergen County, Essex County, Middlesex County and Somerset County prosecutor's offices; the Morris County, Essex County and Ocean County sheriff's offices; the FBI; Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations; the National Insurance Crime Bureau; U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the U.S. Marshals Service.