June 16, 1999
Web posted at: 7:13 PM EDT (2313 GMT)

From Justice Department Producer Terry Frieden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- More than 100 suspects were charged in 18 U.S. cities Wednesday in a nationwide crackdown on the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cargo from cars and trucks.

The arrests culminated a law enforcement operation targeting highway cargo theft, including the theft of computers and high-tech equipment, the FBI announced.

"Cargo theft is a major crime problem throughout the nation, with some estimates of losses ranging up to $10 billion a year," said FBI Director Louis Freeh.

In a written statement, Freeh predicted the arrests announced Wednesday would "eventually make significant inroads on cargo theft now carried out by a wide range of organized groups in all regions of the country."

Assistant FBI Director Tom Picard said vehicle and cargo thefts had become crimes of choice for organized criminal groups because the penalties are often light and the potential for illegal profits is huge.

"A million dollars or more worth of memory chips can easily fit in the back of a car," Picard said.

Picard, head of the FBI's huge Criminal Investigative Division, said cargo theft is increasingly committed by groups that target valuable commodities or steal on demand for "fences" and illegitimate wholesalers. Those operatives then sell the goods themselves or place the stolen property into domestic and overseas black markets where the products are introduced into legitimate retail markets.

The FBI cited an insurance industry estimate that the average price of a personal computer costs an extra $100 from a legitimate dealer because of the cost of high-tech thefts.

The FBI said the cargo theft charges constitute the second phase of a larger nationwide anti-crime program which also targets motor vehicle theft.

The program, code-named "Operation Sudden Stop" was first announced April 27 when more than 200 individuals were arrested in 22 cities for motor vehicle thefts.

State and local police and prosecutors joined the FBI in carrying out the operations announced Wednesday. Authorities said the investigation into organized vehicle and cargo theft was continuing.

Officials said 104 people were arrested or charged in New York; Chicago; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Washington; Detroit; Dallas; Tampa, Florida; Miami; Albany, New York; Birmingham, Alabama; Buffalo, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Newark, New Jersey.