Ford Employee Stole Millions of Dollars of Parts from the Factory Over 2 Years, Police Say
Four men, including a former Ford employee, have been arrested in connection to a theft ring that allegedly stole Ford parts directly from the assembly line. According to the Dearborn Police Department, the arrests were made on May 6, after a months-long investigation in conjunction with Ford Motor Company's global security department.
Dearborn police chief Issa Shahie spoke to Fox 2 News Detroit about the alleged theft ring. Shahin states that the thieves had been taking Ford parts off the assembly line for over two years, and that the parts are reportedly worth millions of dollars.
Parts were allegedly stolen from the Dearborn, Flat Rock and Wayne plants. These plants build some of Ford's most popular models: Dearborn builds the F-150; in Flat Rock, they build the Mustang; and Wayne builds the Ranger and the Bronco.
Once the stolen parts were removed from the assembly line, they were allegedly taken to one of two third-party auto shops in Detroit. From there, police say the items would be listed and sold on eBay.
Police obtained a search warrant for two local residences and two Detroit businesses in the pursuit of the investigation. 'When we executed a search warrant at one of the shops in Detroit, from the floor to the ceiling it was stacked with brand-new auto parts,' said Shahin. Inside the shop, police say they found everything from Ford hoods, bumpers, headlights and taillights — all in storage and allegedly waiting to be sold.
The four men remain in custody, although their names have not been released as official charges from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office have not yet been filed; those charges could include grand theft, criminal enterprise and racketeering, according to Fox 2 Detroit. The auto shops that were searched in connection with this theft ring have been temporarily closed.
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