Police Bust Stolen Auto-Parts Operation, Arrest Several Suspects

The , in cooperation with several other local police departments, have arrested several suspects in connection to an ongoing stolen auto parts investigation involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen auto merchandise.

Police have been investigating a loosely-knit but organized criminal enterprise related to auto part thefts, particularly thefts involving GPS units, which has been ongoing throughout the past year in the metro Detroit area.

According to a Wednesday press release from Troy Police, Troy Police made the arrests Nov. 1 in conjunction with the Detroit Police Department Commercial Auto Theft Unit; the ACTION AUTO Unit made up of investigators from Grosse Pointe Park, Harper Woods and Detroit Police Department; and the Southfield Police Department Tactical Crime Suppression Unit.

According to the release, investigators were eventually able to identify street-level suspects and connect them to fences – referring to individuals who knowingly buy stolen property for later resale – to whom they were selling the stolen merchandise.

The suspects who were stealing the actual units were being paid $250-$400 per unit from the fences, who then resold them on e-Bay and Craigslist, and to auto parts stores at prices ranging from $600-$1200. Police also have information that the fences may have shipped the stolen items to other states and even out of the country.

Police eventually identified a business in Detroit whose employees were purchasing stolen auto parts, including in-dash GPS systems, center caps for wheels, and wheels/tires. Over the course of several months, detectives were able to develop information that stolen property was being purchased at that location, which led to the Detroit Police Department Commercial Auto Theft Unit obtaining search warrants for that premises. Officers from Detroit, Southfield, Grosse Pointe Park, Harper Woods, and Troy served those search warrants, which resulted in the recovery of a large amount of suspected stolen auto parts. 

Officers from the Detroit Police Department were able to obtain a “Violation of Probation” Warrant for the owner of the business. Officers also arrested several other suspects while inspecting and searching the business and all of the warehouses during the course of aforementioned searches.

Inside one of the buildings used by the suspects, officers located more than 5,000 suspected stolen center caps for wheels, several suspected stolen navigation units, and other suspected stolen auto parts. Over 13 pick-up truck loads of suspected stolen property were recovered and confiscated.

The value of the suspected stolen property is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to police. The confiscated items are currently being held by the Detroit Police Department Commercial Auto Theft Unit as they continue their investigation.

Detectives are anticipating that the business owner will be sentenced to serve 36 months to 10 years on the probation violation, and additional time on any new criminal charges arising out of this most recent case. Additionally, the owner was charged with not keeping the state mandatory law enforcement inventory records and not having a “second hand re-sale license.” The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is enhancing the owner’s sentencing guidelines due to the owner’s habitual offender status.

As a result of the closing down of the business, investigators are hoping this investigation may positively impact auto part-related thefts in the area by eliminating a source location to readily fence these items.

The Troy Police Department states in the release that it wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the Detroit Police Department, the Southfield Police Department and Auto Action Unit in this investigation.

Troy Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.