Norfolk CBP Officers Recover Stolen Vehicles Headed to Africa

NORFOLK, VA— As 2017 comes to an end, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the Outbound Enforcement Team at the Port of Norfolk intercepted and recovered nine stolen vehicles bound for Africa since December 1st.

The vehicles were all to be exported from the Norfolk seaport with a majority destined for West African countries. The stolen autos recovered included a variety of high priced makes and models such as a 2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2017 Infinity QX80 and a 2018 Mercedes GLE. Since October 1, the CBP Norfolk Outbound team seized a total of 16 vehicles making the overall value of the stolen automobiles in three months over $691,000 dollars.

“We work with various federal, state and local law enforcement authorities to ensure unauthorized exports are not allowed to leave the country,” said Mark J. Laria, CBP Area Port Director. “CBP is the last line of defense in the export control process, and we do use our authority to inspect, search, detain and seize goods being exported illegally or without proper authorization.”

The recovered vehicles will be turned over to Virginia State Police Special Agents who will return the vehicles to their rightful owners.

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