BEL AIR, Md. -- Police who uncovered an international car theft ring in Maryland and three other states can thank a lost cell phone.

Charging documents said the phone was found by police on the seat of a sport utility vehicle during a theft investigation at a dealership in Bel Air.

An investigator posed as a good Samaritan, contacted the owner of the phone and arranged a meeting to return it. That's when police arrested the owner, 37-year-old Sean Belser of Washington, and a man with him, 52-year-old Richard Melton of Capitol Heights.


Police have also charged 39-year-old Amadu Shuluman Jalloh of Oxon Hill, an illegal immigrant from Sierra Leone. He is also charged in an attempt to escape from police custody at Laurel Regional Medical Center in November.

Authorities said the car theft ring shipped hundreds of vehicles to West Africa. It also operated in New York, North and South Carolina.

Troopers told the Baltimore Sun they have not determined how many cars were stolen, although they estimate the number to be in the hundreds.

Officials also told the paper that stolen vehicles sell for double the manufacturer's market value in foreign countries.

"It's beginning to be a big problem in the East Coast in different states," Trooper Christopher Thomas told the Sun.

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