Luxury vehicles worth $385,000 that were stolen by an organized theft ring were recovered from a Dania Beach dealership and a Parkland home, the Florida Highway Patrol announced Monday.
Citing the open investigation, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky said the dealer and Parkland resident would not be identified.
"The investigation is continuing to try and connect the vehicles to a suspect," Wysocky said.
What he could reveal is that a small auto dealer purchased a 2009 Mercedes-Benz CL 550; a 2009 Maserati Quattroporte S; a 2010 Range Rover and a 2012 Bentley Continental Flying Spur, and sold the Mercedes and Maserati to the Parkland buyer.
In May, federal and state authorities charged 19 people with conspiracy to steal or carjack vehicles in 2010 and 2011 from several states and illegally exporting them through New Jersey seaports to buyers in at least five countries in western Africa.
More than 200 vehicles worth $6 million were recovered, officials said.
Wysocky said the South Florida case is linked to the one up north.
"The title papers given to the Florida dealer were fraudulent, and the dealer made the sales based on paper he received from out of state," Wysocky. "I guess it's the old story that if it's too good to be true . . ." he said about someone buying a 2012 Bentley from a small dealership in Dania Beach.
The agency is partnering with the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
"We were working on a tip from them to look out for these vehicles," Wysocky said. "When they went to this dealer, the paperwork led them to the residence in Parkland."