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Article published Jan 22, 2006

Police officers are warned of dangerous cargo theft gang

JOE CALLAHAN
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is one of the world's most violent gangs, which smuggles drugs, humans and guns from El Salavador through Mexico into the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned recently.

In December, Department of Homeland Security officials also warned U.S. Border Patrol agents they were on the gang's hit list. Now, all law enforcement agents are told they should watch the gang closely because there are 10,000 members in 31 states around the country.

At the national 2006 Legislative Cargo Security Summit, the third annual workshop held in Tallahassee, FBI agents will give security officials an update about the growing threat of MS-13 to officers on the street.

"They are known for their violence toward law enforcement officers," said Marion Sheriff's Capt. Tommy Bibb, one of the event organizers. "With a growing number of law enforcement officers out there tracking down cargo thieves, they need to be aware of MS-13."

The gang formed in the 1980s in the Los Angeles area as many El Salvador refugees who fled during that country's civil war. It is believed MS-13 formed as a way to protect themselves from other rival gangs before turning to crime themselves.

"This gang could be dangerous for our agents tracking cargo crimes," Bibb said.

Wednesday marks the beginning of the two-day summit, an event where people from law enforcement - as well as from the trucking, insurance and security industry - gather to talk strategy in stopping cargo theft, the nation's most costly crime.

Each year, at least $10 billion of cargo is stolen from warehouses, 18-wheelers and ship containers. Then the goods are quickly moved into the overseas black market.

Cigarettes and electronics are big targets, and most of the cargo is moved through Florida to Miami by a Cuban cartel for export, sometimes within hours of a heist.

In 1999, Marion County's truck stops were hit hard.

More than $8.5 million worth of goods were stolen as entire trailers, left at the truck stops over the weekend, were swiped. Many were later found empty in Miami-Dade County, where agents believe the group is headquartered.

In that same year, $100 million worth of goods were taken in Florida, prompting Sheriff Ed Dean and Bibb to organize meetings with statewide law enforcement officials.

The end result was the creation of the nation's first statewide task force, called the Florida Commercial Vehicle and Cargo Theft Task Force, to begin targeting the problem.

Last year there were $66 million in thefts and officials believe the number may have dropped by two-thirds.

"It looks like that we had less than $20 million in the state this year, but the exact number will be revealed at the summit," Bibb said, adding that last year people from 25 states attended the two-day event that set a national cargo theft strategy.

Dean said that national strategy formed last year is starting to develop. However, law enforcement officials should keep pushing for the tools necessary to stop the crime.

"I think the strategy is starting to take hold," he said.

The event will also feature an update on cargo theft legislation.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, will update the status of the Patriot Act, where his cargo theft legislation has been placed. That legislation established a separate crime reporting code for cargo theft and enhanced prison sentences for those convicted of stealing cargo.

For decades, law enforcement officials have had their hands tied when it came to cargo theft.

Without a national tracking code, it was difficult to know exactly the extent of the problem, considering each agency may report cargo thefts differently, whether logged as larceny, grand theft, burglary or an array of other charges.

The new UCR code will put the national cargo theft crisis better in focus, Bibb said.

Ed Petow, one of the nation's first law enforcement official to begin combating cargo theft, said leaps have been made in the last year to finally get the tools needed to help fight the crime.

"I honestly thought we were just making baby steps but over the last year we have been making giant steps toward getting what we need to fight cargo theft," he said.

Up until his recent retirement, Petow was the leader of Miami-Dade's Tactical Operations Multi-agency Cargo Anti-Theft Squad, or TOM-CATS for short. The group is considered the best regional cargo theft task force in the United States.

The two-day event will also include updates on state legislation, advancement in skin cell DNA technology that could help catch thieves and a detailed look at MS-13.

The conference is a way for agencies from all around the country to get together and discuss issues in hopes of reducing the national crisis of cargo theft.

"We have a long way since 1999," Bibb said.

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Joe Callahan may be reached at joe.callahan@starbanner.com or at (352) 867-4113.