MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) – New video shows police say the man is the “ringleader” of a luxury car theft operation throughout Miami and Miami Beach hotels.
Zakria Khan, 26, was arrested in August on suspicion of running a criminal enterprise involving approximately $2 million.
Miami police say Khan advertised luxury rides from hotels such as Miami Beach’s historic Eden Roc on multiple occasions.
“For theft of vehicles, luxury cars, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and those types of vehicles, he changes the titles on them. He sends them to other countries,” Miami Police Sgt. spoke. Oscar Baquedano in bond court.
Dashcam video and still photos show Khan driving and handling luxury vehicles used to run his criminal organization.
Police say the suspects traveled from Miami to Miami Beach and other cities, stealing luxury vehicles and using towing services to transport them.
Police said footage obtained exclusively by 7News shows the Rolls Royce and Ferrari being taken by Mr Khan to a storage facility in Hollywood.
The arrest report states: “This car theft scheme is a new trend in which valet service companies are being victimized, in which the subject steals the keys directly from the valet box and (a) attempts to retrieve the car a short time later; “This is a new trend of returning.”
“He’s basically one of the masterminds of the operation here,” Baquedano said.
Photos showed Khan behind the wheel of luxury cars, including a Range Rover and a Ferrari, which police said were also stolen.
“He’s been involved in a lot of fraud,” Baquedano said.
Police presented the case to a bond court judge over the summer after Mr. Khan was arrested at Miami International Airport shortly after arriving on a flight from New York.
Despite being described in court as a flight risk, the city of Miami and Miami Beach police said the suspect had bought a plane ticket to Central America just before he was arrested on charges including grand theft and trafficking in stolen goods. He announced that he had made a reservation.
Khan has since been released from prison on bond.
He still faces felony charges, with a hearing scheduled for January 2025.
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