Police say the suspects rented stolen vehicles on Turo, but the company cooperated fully, leading to their capture
- Arizona law enforcement just busted what it says is a multi-million dollar car theft ring.
- In the process, it recovered 29 vehicles, cash, and several firearms and arrested three people.
- It says that the suspects would rent out the cars on Turo to profit even more from their theft.
If you’ve rented a car in the Phoenix area recently, there’s a chance it was used in a crime. No, really. Local authorities have uncovered a theft ring that was renting out high-end vehicles on Turo, the popular car-sharing platform, as part of an elaborate scheme. In the end, three people with international connections are behind bars, and the cops have recovered 29 stolen cars worth nearly $2.5 million.
In what it called “Operation Escalading Switch” (cool name, huh?) the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force executed several search warrants on Tuesday. They stumbled upon more than two dozen cars, several of which had altered vehicle identification numbers. Authorities say many of the cars they found ended up on Turo, the rental website, within a week after being swiped.
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Among the recovered vehicles? A Chevrolet Corvette, a Rolls-Royce Ghost, an Aston Martin DBX, and a Mercedes-Benz G-Class. So, if you’ve rented one of those recently, congratulations, you might have been driving something that could’ve had a much more colorful past than you thought.
“This operation is a testament to the effectiveness of collaborative law enforcement and the dedication of our Vehicle Theft Task Force,” said Colonel Jeffrey Glover, Director of the AZDPS. “We are committed to protecting Arizona’s communities, and this takedown sends a strong message to those engaged in organized crime.”
Officers also uncovered a stash of cash and firearms during the operation. In addition, they arrested Ali Ahmad, 29, Delia Rocha, 32, and Mario Rodriguez, 33, all from Glendale, AZ. With their ties to both Mexico and the Middle East, the trio was deemed a flight risk and promptly detained.
Photos Arizona DPS
Turo ended up being instrumental in busting these folks. In a statement to AZFamily, the company wrote: “We’re grateful to AZDPS, the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force, and Turo’s dedicated Trust and Safety investigators for working together to remove these criminals from Phoenix metro streets.”
It turns out that one of the culprits had insider access to the Arizona DMV.
“Unfortunately, this host’s insider access to the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles enabled them to disguise stolen vehicles as legitimate rentals,” said Turo’s spokesperson. “We immediately collaborated with investigators to expose the full scheme. Moreover, criminal behavior is extremely rare on our platform, and we have zero tolerance for it.”
Based on that, it seems as though this sort of situation should be a relatively rare one. That said, it’s a good reminder that criminals are often working the system to the best of their abilities; but there’s no such thing as a perfect crime.