A South Florida business owner is in custody facing more than 200 charges related to an alleged scheme involving shipping stolen vehicles and parts to the United Arab Emirates. Roohullah Abdul-Rauof, 47, resident of Doral, and owner of Shine Motors in Opa-locka, was arrested on a litany of charges including dealing in stolen property, grand theft auto, and operating a chop shop, according to NBC Miami.
Investigators reportedly discovered shipping containers at PortMiami containing stolen vehicles. The first container, seized on September 22, held a 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe and two Hyundai Sonatas stolen from Miami-Dade County. The vehicles were bound for the UAE and linked to Abdul-Rauof’s company alongside four stolen, unmanifested engines, as reported by NBC Miami. Abdul-Rauof, who has lived in the United States since 2016, and hasn't previously been arrested, was booked into jail with a bond set at $145,500 and was ordered to surrender his passport, amidst concerns he posed a flight risk.
Detailed in a separate investigation by the Local 10 News, an auto crimes task force conducted a shop inspection at Shine Motors on October 15. The search revealed various vehicle components, including engines and doors reported stolen from areas including Miami, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. Additionally, there were a large number of unassigned Florida titles found, all tied to Abdul-Rauof's business operations.
While the company's Facebook page advertised the sale of used engines and transmissions purportedly "directly from Japan and Korea," authorities said some parts actually originated from local thefts. Abdul-Rauof "stated that he did not have any purchase orders or legal documents for the vehicles and engines found inside the shipping containers," according to the same Local 10 News report. With an estimated $214,906 worth of recovered property, Abdul-Rauof now faces a daunting total of 224 misdemeanor charges alongside the felony counts. He is presently held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
