Mercedes Benz Stolen In Woodbridge Re-Sold In Bronx For $7,500

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — On Nov. 7, federal prosecutors said they busted a ring of eight men who stole luxury cars throughout New Jersey — and one of the cars was stolen in Woodbridge.

The car was a 2022 Mercedes Benz S580, stolen from Woodbridge on October 10, 2022.

It was stolen from a Woodbridge driveway between approximately 6:15 p.m. and 6:19 p.m. Within an hour, due to its anti-theft detection devices, the car was located in Newark.

Federal prosecutors say minutes after they located the GPS location of the car, at approximately 6:34 p.m., one of the men in the ring (Ibn Bellamy, 24, of Newark) sent four photographs of the Mercedes Benz (including photographs showing the license plate and the car’s inspection report) to an interested buyer, unnamed, located in the Bronx.

The two men agreed on a $7,500 sale price, and the Bronx man gave his address to drop off the car.

The Mercedes Benz was detected crossing from New Jersey into New York state at 10:44 p.m. that same night. Law enforcement recovered the 2022 Mercedes Benz S580 in the Bronx a day later, Oct. 11. They seized the car.

FBI agents started investigating the ring in November 2021, saying the group stole and re-sold high-value stolen cars in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and elsewhere. Some of the stolen cars were used during the commission of other crimes, including the theft of additional cars, shootings and a homicide. Here is the criminal complaint: https://content.govdelivery.co...

From November 2021 to July 2022, Franks, the alleged ringleader, exchanged photographs of at least 400 known or suspected stolen cars with at least a dozen conspirators.

The eight men are:

• Ahmad Franks, aka “Mahdi,” 24
• Shaquan White, aka “QBandz,” aka “Q Bands,” 23
• Nathan Braswell, aka “Troub,” 20
• Ibn Bellamy, aka “YC,” 24
• Zamir Wright, aka “GBz,” 20, all of Newark
• Ryan Bowen, aka “Prob,” 26
• Khyree Lawrence, aka “6,” 20, both of East Orange
• Mohammed Buhari, aka “Sakina,” 45, of Woodbridge, Virginia

They were all charged with conspiring to receive, possess, or sell stolen vehicles in interstate commerce.

Luxury vehicles (Audi RS5, 2021 Range Rover, BMW M3, BMW X7, BMW 740i, Porsche Cayenne) were stolen in Ridgewood, Cranford, Spring Lake (two BMWs were stolen from Spring Lake in two different instances in 2022), Great Neck, NY and Staten Island.