N.J. Men Partook In International Carjacking and Trafficking Ring, Plead Guilty

Two Newark men have pleaded guilty to their parts in a major international carjacking and stolen car trafficking ring that stole high-end cars in New Jersey and New York and shipped them to West Africa, authorities stated.

According to the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Kurtis Bossie, 24, and Jim J. Bryant Jr., 24, both of Newark, pleaded guilty on Friday to first-degree charges of conspiracy and carjacking.

The pair were charged in “Operation Jacked,” an investigation led by the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey State Police, assisted by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police, ICE Homeland Security Investigations and 12 other law enforcement agencies.

According to prosecutors, investigators recovered 160 stolen cars worth more than $8 million during the operation, primarily at ports in New Jersey and New York.

• See related article: NJ “Operation Jacked” Charges 19 Essex County Men in $8 Million International Carjacking Ring

Bossie will face a recommended sentence of 18 years in state prison, including 8 ½ years of parole ineligibility, prosecutors stated.

Bryant Jr. will face a recommended sentence of 10 years in state prison, including more than five years of parole ineligibility, prosecutors stated.

Bossie and Bryant are scheduled to be sentenced on April 15.

According to prosecutors, the ring operated in multiple counties in New Jersey, including Essex, Union, Morris, Monmouth, Middlesex, Bergen and Somerset Counties.

Out of roughly 160 vehicles recovered, 140 were recovered at ports, including Port Newark, Port Elizabeth and Howland Hook Seaport in Staten Island, N.Y., prosecutors stated.

According to prosecutors, the Division of Criminal Justice indicted 26 defendants on Dec. 18, 2014, on charges including first-degree racketeering. Those defendants included three alleged ringleaders, two alleged shippers for the ring, and 21 associates who fenced cars, committed carjackings and thefts, and acted as wheel men who moved and hid the luxury vehicles.

Four other defendants pleaded guilty before the indictment, authorities stated.

According to prosecutors, the ring targeted “high-end vehicles,” particularly luxury SUVs made by Land Rover, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Honda, Porsche, Jaguar and Aston Martin. Twenty-seven of the recovered vehicles were allegedly taken in carjackings, a majority of which “involved a gun or other weapon,” while the others were stolen from various locations where the thieves were able to steal them with one or more of their electronic keys or key fobs, “which are critical to the resale value of the cars.”

In West Africa, the luxury vehicles trafficked by the ring commanded prices in excess of new market value in the U.S., authorities stated.

“Through Operation Jacked, we addressed a very dangerous form of street-level crime by locking up ring members who were terrorizing our communities with armed carjackings,” said Acting Attorney General Hoffman. “Carjackings have declined dramatically across the region, thanks to the work of the Essex County Carjacking Task Force and the fact that we have dismantled two major carjacking rings: this one and a similar criminal enterprise we took down last fall in Operation 17 Corridor.”

• See related article: Essex County Police Help Bust International Carjacking Ring

Sign up for Patch email newsletters here.

File photo via Flickr Commons