A months-long investigation reaching its apex, a car wash in Central City known as 5-Star Auto Spa has been seized by authorities, as announced by the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office yesterday. Linked to a surge in violent crimes and illegal narcotics, the presence of stolen weapons, and even body armor, the car wash is now under the custody of law enforcement. Announced the seizure of the establishment, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, according to WDSU, the operation "provided legal grounds for my office to seize this business due to the ongoing detrimental impact on the surrounding neighborhoods."
The bust, a result of collaborative efforts by the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, the New Orleans Police Department’s Special Operations Division, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was partly prompted by community complaints that the car wash was acting as a front for illicit activities. While the car wash had "harmed families and businesses in this neighborhood" for years, it was, as reported by NOLA.com, prompting “real and repeated” calls for action from the public, said Williams.
This operation, conducted by the Data Informed Community Engagement division of the district attorney’s office in coalition with multiple agencies, led to ten arrests on state and federal charges. Surveillance and undercover buys from October to April were crucial in piecing together the evidence required for the seizure, as noted by Daniel Shanks, director of the Data Informed Community Engagement division, to NOLA.com. "Thousands of dollars in drugs” and several firearms were also seized in the process.
Labeling the investigation a "surgical" strike against criminal activity in Central City, ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson warned that similar shutdowns of other entities that disturb the peace of communities were imminent—albeit without offering details—speaking to NOLA.com. The DA's stance is firm: Businesses cloaked as fronts for breaking the law won't be tolerated. “We want to see local businesses thrive,” Williams said. "But when a business is used as a cover for criminal activity … we will not look the other way.”
