NEWARK, NJ. - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plays a major role in the battle against Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and other innovative and constantly evolving transnational criminal networks whose collaborative efforts seek nothing but illicit financial gain and fortune. One threat of particular concern comes from the sophisticated organizations responsible for the theft and export of stolen vehicles. Thousands of vehicles have been stolen or carjacked throughout the tristate area in order to be illegally exported from the United States through various marine terminals located in/around the Port of New York/Newark (NY/NWK) with final destinations to African nations such as Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

On the epidemic of stolen vehicles, Marty C. Raybon, CBP Port Director, stated, “Our success at identifying, degrading and disrupting transnational networks depends on many things, but analytics and partnerships are right at the top of the list. CBP will always be able to leverage our unique authorities, data holdings, and analytical abilities, but without close collaboration with our federal, state and local partners, we cannot dismantle these networks. What’s required is a whole of government approach and that’s what we have with our partners in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Philadelphia, HSI Newark Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), HSI New York BEST, New Jersey State Police, New York City Police Department, Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) and Hudson County Sheriff’s Department.”

CBP’s mission is to safeguard America’s borders thereby protecting the public from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation’s global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel. The men and women of CBP who are assigned to the Port of NY/NWK take this mission and commitment to the public very seriously and will continue to work with our partners and stakeholders to ensure our continued success.