Eight New Jersey men have been arrested and a multi-million cargo theft ring has been dismantled, Kearny Police Chief George King announced Saturday.

King said the cargo theft ring had been responsible for stealing $4 million in goods from Kearny trucking yards over an 18-month period. The arrests were the result of a multi-agency investigation dubbed Operation Equinox.

Douglas Abarca, 40, of Jersey City was arrested as the ring leader of the group that King said had stolen 15 trailers. Four other Jersey City men, Omar Ortiz, 37, Christopher Williams, 38, David Soliman, 32, and Jesus Navarro, 31, were among the eight arrested. Nelson Pena-Restituyo, 52, of Union City, Sami Khales, 26, of Palisades Park, and Juan Salazar, 40, of Elizabeth, were also arrested between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6.

Abarca, Ortiz, Williams, Soliman and Navarro were charged with theft and conspiracy to commit theft; Pena-Restituyo, was charged with theft and burglary; Khales was charged with conspiracy to commit theft, receiving stolen property and fencing; and Salazar was charged theft conspiracy to commit theft.

The stolen merchandise included food items, cosmetics, chemicals, tires, linen, clothing and liquor with an approximate retail value of more than $4 million, King said. The stolen merchandise was stored in warehouses in Linden, North Bergen and Clifton after the thefts.

During the course of the 18-month investigation by Kearny police and New Jersey State Police, police recovered various amounts of the stolen merchandise, including 36 pallets of Hershey Syrup valued at $120,000, a shipment of clothing valued at $300,000 and a shipment of waffle sandwiches valued at $40,000.

“These arrests are the culmination of an intensive investigation spanning multiple law enforcement agencies," King said in a statement. "I am extremely proud of the work done by members of the Kearny Police Department Detective Bureau and their collaboration with county, state, and federal agencies to bring this to a successful conclusion.”

King also credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit, New Jersey State Police, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Real Time Crime Center.

King said the Kearny Police Department is actively investigating these cases. Anyone with information is asked to contact Kearny police at 201-998-1313 or tips@kearnynjpd.org . All information will be kept confidential.