FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A man arrested by Miami Beach police on state charges in July after being accused of stealing high-end vehicles is now facing a federal charge alleging a broader scheme to ship the rides overseas.
According to a federal court case filed on Monday, Hakam Shahin, 30, of Oakland Park, is facing a count of conspiracy to transport stolen motor vehicles.
Federal prosecutors are trying the case in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey. That’s the city where authorities say “stolen vehicles were being transported, loaded into shipping containers and exported” to the Middle East and Africa from a lot “run by an international shipping and logistics company.”
According to a federal criminal complaint, on April 29, Homeland Security Investigations agents were made aware of the criminal activity.
Surveillance of the lot the next day showed multiple parked luxury vehicles, including a Range Rover, Cadillac Escalade and Mercedes-Benz G-Class, all reported stolen out of Florida, New Jersey and Texas respectively, the complaint states.
On May 1, agents said they saw a Bentley Continental that had been stolen in Florida just three days before.
Agents said they saw Shahin at the lot on multiple occasions, taking photos of the vehicles and at one point arriving with a trailer carrying a Lamborghini Aventador stolen from Florida.
The complaint mentions other vehicles stolen from Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee and New York.
Agents said they were able to intercept shipments of stolen luxury cars that were bound for the west African country of Togo, as well as the United Arab Emirates.
They said they obtained text messages showing a co-conspirator advising Shahin and others to “always avoid” Flock surveillance cameras when driving.
They said they also obtained texts showing unnamed co-conspirators and Shahin discussing “watching out for law enforcement.”
According to the complaint, that includes an April 30 text in which a co-conspirator told Shahin to “Fast go clean the g class...before it f---s up the yard,” to which Shahin replied with a photo of two Newark Police Department vehicles at the lot.
The next day, agents said Shahin told the co-conspirator to “keep quiet” and that “someone (was) giving info” to authorities.
On May 5, agents said a co-conspirator told Shahin, “You’re f---ed” after Shahin sent a photo of an NPD cruiser behind a stolen Ferrari.
Agents said they also obtained messages showing group chats between Shahin, the co-conspirators and employees of the unnamed shipping company.
Broward Sheriff’s Office jail records show that federal authorities arrested Shahin on Friday. He was being held at BSO’s Main Jail facility in Fort Lauderdale, on behalf of the U.S. Marshals Service, as he awaits extradition to the Garden State.
He had been scheduled to make an initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday morning.
In the meantime, records show the two state cases against Shahin ― in which he faces nearly a dozen felonies total ― remain active in Miami-Dade County court. He’s scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 8.
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