{"id":15820,"date":"2026-05-01T14:16:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/?p=15820"},"modified":"2026-05-01T14:16:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T14:16:05","slug":"investigation-100-stolen-cars-from-washington-dc-secretly-shipped-to-ghana-west-african-king-of-robbery-in-united-states-khobe-david-5-others-charged-in-vehicle-theft-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigeriastandardnewspaper.com\/a\/investigation-100-stolen-cars-from-washington-dc-secretly-shipped-to-ghana-west-african-king-of-robbery-in-united-states-khobe-david-5-others-charged-in-vehicle-theft-ring\/","title":{"rendered":"INVESTIGATION: 100 Stolen Cars from Washington DC Secretly Shipped to Ghana, West African King of Robbery in United States KHOBE DAVID, 5 others charged in Vehicle-theft ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Unsealed federal indictment confirmed six people arrested, confessed to attempts selling cars to buyers in United States and Africa<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/strong>\u201cFrom Washington DC, the stolen vehicles are loaded onto shipping containers that are labeled furniture as opposed to cars, because there will not be as much scrutiny. The shipping containers are sent across the ocean to West Africa, where they get top dollar on the black market. This is a sophisticated ring turning everyday cars into international cargo\u201d<\/strong><\/span>–<\/strong> U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>*BY DANIEL IWUDE\/DIPLOMATIC Writer, Reporting LIVE from Arlington, Texas\/Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

For illegally found to have transferred 100 cars from Washington, DC, to Ghana, Khobe David, notoriously dubbed in the America law enforcement circle as \u2018West African King of Robbery\u2019 and five others in the operation had been arrested and charged for attempting to sell stolen vehicles to buyers in the United States and Africa.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Their identities are: Jacob Hernandez, 29, of Los Angeles; Khobe David, 24, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Dustin Wetzel, 23, of Woodbridge, Virginia; Chance Clark, 25, of Waldorf, Maryland; James Young, 23, of Hyattsville, Maryland; and a sixth person whose name is redacted in the filing were arrested earlier this week after a grand jury returned the 15-count indictment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said it\u2019s possible more than 100 cars were stolen from D.C. and more than 30 from Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland. The cars would be taken to one of two garages-one located on 70 I St. SE in the Navy Yard and another at a Marriott Hotel in Maryland. There, the license plates would be switched out, the vehicle identification number was sometimes changed, and GPS devices were reset.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, these cars are loaded onto shipping containers that are labeled \u2018furniture\u2019 as opposed to \u2018cars,\u2019 because there will not be as much scrutiny,\u201d Pirro said. \u201cThen, the shipping containers are sent across the ocean to Africa, where they get top dollar on the black market. This is a sophisticated ring turning everyday cars into international cargo.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pirro said demand for the vehicles in Africa is \u201csky high\u201d-with buyers paying more than the cars would be sold for in the U.S. because the vehicles are so difficult to obtain, thanks to high tariffs.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn this indictment, we\u2019ve identified over 20 cars with an estimated street value of just under $1 million,\u201d Pirro said. \u201cBut law enforcement is continuing to investigate the fact that this ring may be involved in the theft of more than 100 vehicles in D.C. and more than 30 more vehicles in Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland-that is valued at up to $4 million.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Targeted vehicles included Corvettes, Camaros and several Hondas, including Civics, which Pirro said have additional value because their parts can be used with other vehicles. She said the thefts date back to at least February 2025, with the indictment saying late January of that year may have been when the first vehicle was stolen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cVehicles were moved through at least three ports up and down the East Coast, including Savannah, Georgia, Baltimore, Maryland, and Newark, New Jersey,\u201d said Interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll. \u201cVehicles that were stolen here in D.C. were located as far away as Western Africa.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*How it happened<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Pirro laid out the simplicity of the scheme when she opened her news conference Wednesday, calling it \u201cthe new world of car theft.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t need keys and they don\u2019t need hot wiring. No smashed windows, no drama-just a sleek electronic device called an Autel,\u201d Pirro said. \u201cIn under a minute, the car\u2019s brain is rewritten. The car is gone in 60 seconds.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Those Autel devices can be bought online by anyone for just a few hundred dollars, something Pirro said needs to change. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any question,\u201d she said when asked whether there should be more regulation surrounding ownership of the devices.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have that, unless you have a legitimate reason. If you\u2019re in the business of making sure of registering cars or licensing cars or repairing cars, that\u2019s one thing. But to be able to buy this on your own, I think there definitely must be some kind of legislation or registering,\u201d she said.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Carroll offered some advice for vehicle owners to help keep their car from getting stolen.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFolks who have the key fobs, use a Faraday bag,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cIt\u2019s a bag that prevents the electronic from emanating from the key.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

But even when key fobs were protected, thieves could also plug the Autel into a port in the vehicle and take it over that way, which is why he suggested using a device commonly known as \u201cthe club\u201d on their steering wheels.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you have an Autel device, you won\u2019t be able to drive that car,\u201d Carroll said. \u201cI know a lot of people think those things are outdated, but they\u2019re not. They are good devices that prevent vehicles from still being driven.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

She also suggested putting AirTags inside vehicles to help police track them down if they do get stolen, especially since the in-vehicle GPS systems are sometimes disabled by thieves.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Pirro said at least another 100 stolen vehicles could be connected to this conspiracy, adding she believes this will end up being a \u201cmuch bigger case.\u201d The investigation will look at whether anyone involved in the shipping of vehicles knew that the containers marked as \u201cfurniture\u201d weren\u2019t furniture.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue is whether or not these guys who were stealing the vehicles are the ones who are labeling the containers, and what role the people who are actually shipping the containers have in terms of the labeling,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more peeling of the onion that we must do, but if we think that they\u2019re part of it, we\u2019ll go after them as well. There\u2019s no question.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

*The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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