Bladensburg Man Sentenced For Illegally Shipping Stolen Cars To West Africa: Prosecutor

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A Bladensburg man has been sentenced to prison for his role in illegally shipping stolen cars to West Africa, court documents show.

Karim Abdul Turay, 31, entered a plea agreement that showed between approximately September 2019 and June 2022, he worked with others to fraudulently rent vehicles from Hertz, Avis and other car rental companies at locations in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. Turay and others rented these cars using false identifications and credit cards, according to the prosecution.

The vehicles then would be transported to Maryland where they would be loaded onto large cargo shipping containers and taken to the Port of Baltimore. Then, using false declaration forms and other paperwork to conceal the containers’ contents, the containers with rental vehicles inside would be exported to West Africa via cargo ship where the vehicles could be sold. Law enforcement is aware of more than 40 vehicles that Turay and his co-conspirators either exported or attempted to export to West Africa, court documents showed.

Turay has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Co-conspirator Jonathan Davis, 39, of Laurel previously pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of stolen vehicles and was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison. Another co-conspirator, Rodley Balthazar, 30, also of Laurel, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Turay and was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.