13 charged in catalytic converter theft ring believed to be operated out of Medley warehouse
www.wsvn.com, Jessica Vallejo, Julian Quintana, Chantal Cook, August 29, 2024
MIAMI (WSVN) - A suspected crime ring involving catalytic converter thefts was busted, with more than a dozen people being arrested and charged.
FBI agents and Medley Police officers were seen on Thursday at GMCN Scrap Metals Inc., located at 7229 NW 79th Terrace in Medley.
Police believe the warehouse is where the theft ring was operating, making millions of dollars storing and selling stolen catalytic converters.
Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle held a press conference Thursday afternoon following the arrests of 13 men with alleged ties to the theft ring.
“Thieves don’t steal if there’s not someone that’s gonna buy their stolen goods,” said Fernandez Rundle.
Fernandez Rundle said the operation’s leader, Gerardo Julio Hernandez Rosada, was also the owner of the warehouse. He would buy thousands of stolen auto parts from thieves.
“And they would put them on large trailers and send them out for sale, out of the state of Florida. The cutters, they actually knew where to go to sell these stolen catalytic converters, and they knew where to go without any questions being asked,” she said. “So, after stealing the catalytic converter, the thief would go to GMCN Scrap Metals Inc. in Medley. The business would accept stolen catalytic converters only between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. in the morning. Sometimes there would be a whole line of vehicles waiting outside the warehouse to sell the catalytics.”
Rosada and the 12 other suspects face a list of charges, including racketeering and dealing in stolen property.
“So, hopefully, by eliminating what may have been considered one of the major South Florida buying and fencing of stolen catalytic converters enterprises, hopefully, we have somehow severely impacted these crimes, and give these potential thieves nowhere else to sell their stolen property,” said Fernandez Rundle.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, the fencing operation began in 2022.