Police in Miami have arrested 24-year-old Zakria Khan, the alleged leader behind a string of luxury car thefts from valet services at upscale hotels. Thefts which police say spanned across Miami and Miami Beach, left valets short of several luxury vehicles, including Bentleys and Rolls-Royces. According to WSVN, Khan's scheme involved re-titling the stolen vehicles and shipping them abroad.
Miami Police Sgt. Oscar Baquedano shed light on the arrest during Khan’s court appearance, detailing how Khan was a major player in this sophisticated wave of car thefts. "Basically he’s one of the ringleaders of the operation down here," Baquedano underscored. "The theft of vehicles, of high-end vehicles — Bentleys, Rolls-Royce and vehicles of that nature — he re-titles them. he sends them over to other countries," he told WSVN during a statement given in court.
Investigations led detectives to a parking garage in Brickell, where several vehicles with Montana license plates—a telltale sign of Khan’s operations—were discovered. As detailed in an NBC Miami report, fingerprints inside the cars confirmed Khan’s involvement. His criminal exploits reportedly total to nearly $2 million in stolen luxury cars, some of which were relocated to storage facilities in Hollywood.
Prior to this string of thefts, Khan faced extradition to Minnesota for a gun charge, but authorities caught a break when he returned to Miami. "We've been searching for him for a while," Baquedano recounted in a courtroom statement. Upon landing at Miami International Airport, law enforcement officials were on hand to arrest Khan. He now faces charges that could tether him down with more than a $1 million bond, house arrest, and the relinquishment of his passport, as per NBC Miami.
