A crime ring responsible for the theft of 16 semi truck loads was busted by police in New Jersey.
The bust was announced on Wednesday, March 14th near Trenton, New Jersey but the five month investigation, named “Operation Botany Strike,” began in October of 2017.
According to the Press of Atlantic City, police were able to infiltrate the crime ring by investigating the theft of a trailer hauling $104,000 worth of meat. The loaded trailer was stolen from a trucking lot in South Amboy, New Jersey and was later discovered at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike. From there, officers began following leads, eventually guiding them to a business facility in Passiac, the main location where members of the crime ring offloaded the stolen cargo and even stored the stolen tractor trailers. Two secondary drop off locations in Little Ferry and Secaucus were also discovered.
The discovery of the drop off locations led to the arrest of 11 men involved in the crime ring, as well as the reclaiming of 16 loads of stolen cargo, including food, landscaping equipment, home goods, granite, and clothing. The found merchandise is worth an estimated total of $1 million. Had the merchandise not been found, it would have been sold both domestically and overseas.
All 11 men are currently facing charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy.
“They took everything they could get their hands on,” said Patrick Callahan, the head of the State Police.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see additional cargo seized, additional suspects arrested and certainly charged,” he added.