by Alex Lloyd Gross
Philadelphia Police raided two locations in Northeast Philly and one in North Philly that were being used to store stolen cars or strip them for parts. The vehicles, stolen were Honda’s, which Police Captain Robert McKeever said totaled in the millions. At a press conference today, he showed off car parts such as doors, hatchback and even engines that were chopped up, or taken from Hondas.
In spite of auto thefts being down by 1300 cars compared to this time last year, Two males, Juan Perez and Gerson Frias have been arrested and McKeever said more arrests are imminent. Both were charged with Receiving Stolen Property and related offenses. The value of these stolen cars in in the millions, police said.
Some of the parts were slated to be shipped to the Dominican Republic. Others were used to re build legally purchased salvage vehicles sold at auction. A Honda that was totaled in a crash is sold at auction. For example, if it was hit in the rear. This crew would then allegedly go out and steal a similar Honda, strip it for parts and put the new rear end assembly on the salvaged vehicle, then turn around and sell that car .
Parts that were not used were cut up and identifying information like vehicle identification numbers were cut away. Those part were then sold as scrap metal. According to McKeever, car thieves are quick and can steal a car in less than two minutes.
“Often, they will park the stolen car in a remote area, taking what they need off it quickly. They let it sit and see if it was tracked by police. If it’s not, they come back and steal the rest of it,” McKeever said. Similar thefts happened at a Bridgesburg cemetery.
The two locations raided in the Northeast include a residence and a warehouse storage facility on the 2700 block of Grant Ave. To build the case, they will interview the owner of the facility who rented it out. This ring of thieves in connected to another ring of car thieves that police arrested in April of this year.
If you drove a Honda and it was recently stolen, you can call police at (215) 685-9113 to determine if your cars parts were among those recovered. To prevent auto theft, police suggest using a ODP Port lock or the Club like device which can cause thieves to by pass your car. VIN etching is also strongly urged. New technology is coming to allow VINS to be etched onto vehicle rims and doors,