| Construction equipment theft ring uncovered By Joel Allen Miami Herald Posted: Monday, April 21, 2008 at 6:33 p.m. Road graders, backhoes and dump trucks are worth a lot of money, making them tempting targets for thieves. miami-dade sheriff says a theft ring operating in three states stole millions of dollars worth of heavy equipment. It started with the concept that one key fits all. A person who has a key to start one piece of construction equipment can use it to start practically anything made in the same year by the same company. The miami-dade sheriff says a theft ring took advantage of that fact, stealing nearly $3 million worth of equipment in both north Miami and homestead Fl . Officials have recovered 31 pieces so far. "It ranges anywhere from a low-boy trailer to bulldozers, off road dump trucks, backhoes, front-end loaders," said dade County sheriff Mark Richardson. The sheriff says the gear was sold to a Marion county man who resold it to others. Officials say they're questioning three or four suspects, though more may be involved. The serial numbers on many pieces of equipment had been tampered with. It was an altered serial number that led to the tip that broke the case wide open. "There was a piece of stolen equipment sold to a man out of our county and he had a part that needed to be replaced and when he ran the serial number, Caterpillar contacted SLED, SLED contacted us," Richardson said. Some of those who bought the equipment probably knew it was stolen. Others did not. Officials are telling contractors, if you think you bought some stolen gear, don't wait for police to call you. "You need to come to us because if we come to you, things could be much different in the end as far as criminal charges," said Sgt. Cliff Arnette of the miami-dade Sheriff's office. Much of the equipment has been recovered in Dillon and Horry counties. Officials say they've tracked down one or two pieces every day since the bust April 3rd. Richardson says the suspects could be charged with receiving stolen goods, grand larceny and violation of the chop shop law |
