Five Charged in $3 Million Houston Luxury Car Theft Ring; Police Say 15 Vehicles Were Diverted in Transit and Shipped Overseas
Houston — Houston is a city in Harris County, Texas. Five people, including a Katy couple and their teenage son, have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity in what Houston police describe as a sophisticated scheme to steal luxury vehicles while they were being shipped to customers and send them overseas, according to the Houston Police Department (HPD) and court records. The suspects are Dheyaa Thabit Abd, 41; Iman Ouda Al Saedi, 35; the couple's 17-year-old son, whose name was not released; Matthew Gonzalez, 29; and Saifuldeen Al Gburi, 30, who was arrested Wednesday in Collin County. Court records say the alleged ring operated from August 2025 to September 2026, and police linked about 15 vehicles worth more than $3 million to a three-month period of the investigation, though investigators believe the ring had been operating for years.
Police say the group either hacked a delivery order system or posed as owners, customers or haulers to have vehicles in transit delivered to a different location, then disabled the vehicles' tracking devices, stashed the cars in scattered commercial lots, and moved them across state lines to ports for shipment overseas, in some cases loaded into shipping containers labeled as "rebar." Sgt. Ben LeBlanc of the Houston Police Department's Auto Theft Division told KPRC 2: "We're talking very high end vehicles. They targeted a lot of Mercedes, a lot of Cadillacs, Cadillac Escalades, Range Rovers, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, pretty much anything that had a very high price point, well over $100,000." Some of the vehicles were recovered at the Port of New York and New Jersey, already loaded in shipping containers, with help from the New York Police Department and the New Jersey State Police. Victims included people shipping vehicles after a move or a purchase, as well as local dealerships and auction houses.
Court documents describe a 2025 Mercedes GLE63, valued at over $266,000, that was supposed to be brought to Florida; the delivery driver told police he received a message to bring the Mercedes to a Houston residence instead, where Al Saedi and the 17-year-old paid for the tow and drove off in the car. Records say Gonzalez, after his arrest, told investigators he had worked with Abd and Al Gburi for months, taking directions on where to pick up and drop off vehicles, and claimed Abd disabled the vehicles' tracking abilities and organized shipments to Dubai. Police searched Abd's mechanic shop near Fondren and Richmond in southwest Houston on Oct. 7.
Abd and Al Saedi have each posted $100,000 bond, and Gonzalez posted his $50,000 bond, according to court records. Police say the investigation is continuing; the charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.
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Photo: 图：Houston警察局总部大楼，位于Houston市中心。WhisperToMe摄，公共领域，取自Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Houston Police Department headquarters in downtown Houston. By WhisperToMe, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
