Chop shops busted in St. Joe and Cass counties by MSP
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY — Michigan State Police raided two locations in St. Joseph County and another in Cass County this week, recovering over $300,000 in stolen vehicles and trailers.
Investigators obtained search warrants after several months of investigation. Two properties were searched Tuesday, Dec. 6, in the 51000 block of Lang Road in St. Joseph County's Park Township. The area near Portage Lake is near the Kalamazoo County line northeast of Three Rivers.
Also, a single property was searched in the 10000 block of Welburn Road in Cass County's Newberg Township. That location is east of Newberg near the St. Joseph County line.
Several altered trailers were recovered, as were five stolen trucks and three stolen all-terrain vehicles. Investigators consider the sites “chop shops,” where items are removed from stolen vehicles and resold as parts.
No arrests were made on the scene, but investigators will seek charges on multiple suspects. Authorities are asking anyone with information about this stolen vehicle theft ring to contact the Marshall post at 269-558-0500 or 574-288-STOP or 800-342-STOP.
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The searches were conducted with the aid of Sturgis Police, Marshall post troopers, Southwest Michigan Enforcement Team agents, Southwest Commercial Auto Recovery unit of MSP, the Fifth District Fugitive Team, Special Investigation Section and Emergency Support Team.
— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: MSP recovers over $300,000 in stolen vehicles from three locations
