The National Police arrested a gang headed by deportees from the United States that specialized in selling stolen vehicles. The Police arrested seven members of the gang and seized 11 stolen vehicles in their possession. There are five members still at large. Juan Ubaldo, 38, (a.k.a. Danny) was the leader of the group, and he had been deported from the United States after serving a sentence for vehicular theft and falsification of documents.
The gang members would locate vehicles, take pictures and send the images to Jairo Daniel, a locksmith in Santiago. Daniel would then locate on the Internet the design of the necessary key and make a copy, collecting between RD$3,500 and RD$4,000 for his efforts.
Once the leaders had the key, they would elect the thieves for the particular job. Once stolen, the vehicle was taken to Santiago where a gang member served as the “car dealer” and found buyers for the stolen vehicle. The thieves would receive between RD$80,000 and RD$100,000 per job. The car dealer, known as “Ronny”, is still on the loose and is wanted by the authorities. The other members of the gang that have been apprehended will be sent to the Justice Department for processing.
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El Dia
14 October 2019