Three men from the Bronx have pleaded not guilty to charges related to a multimillion-dollar luxury car theft ring. Arona Amadou, Mamadou Camara, and Moussa Doumbia were among eight individuals charged in connection with the operation, which involved stealing 72 luxury vehicles worth over $6.5 million from driveways in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Philadelphia.
The alleged thieves typically stole the vehicles at night while homeowners were asleep, breaking into homes to obtain key fobs. The stolen cars were then taken to a parking garage in the Longwood section of the Bronx, where they were displayed for potential buyers who paid in cash.
Investigators discovered that several of the stolen vehicles were tracked to a port in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where they were being prepared for shipment to West Africa. The Bronx District Attorney’s Office led the nine-month investigation alongside the New Jersey State Attorney General and the NYPD.
Mamadou Camara’s attorney, Nicholas Ramcharitar, claimed that his client, who is from the Ivory Coast and doesn’t speak English, was potentially taken advantage of or coerced by others involved in the scheme. Camara, along with five other defendants, faces racketeering charges related to the thefts in New Jersey. Both Camara and Amadou waived their extradition rights to New Jersey.
The defendants are scheduled to return to court in June. Of the eight charged, three remain at large. Mohamed Kamara, 26, was arraigned on April 23 and released on his own recognizance.
The case highlights a sophisticated theft operation that exploited vulnerabilities in luxury vehicle security and crossed multiple state lines.
