Federal prosecutors say eight men from Metro Detroit have been indicted in a massive international car smuggling ring that funneled millions of dollars’ worth of stolen vehicles from Southeast Michigan to overseas buyers.
The 12-count federal indictment, filed in Detroit, alleges the men orchestrated a sophisticated pipeline that ran from local streets and parking lots to ports in Newark and Baltimore, and ultimately to countries including Iraq, Jordan, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates.
According to prosecutors, the ring relied on a layered structure of car thieves, brokers, and smugglers:
• Car thieves targeted high-demand luxury vehicles across Metro Detroit. These included BMW X5s, Dodge Durangos, Dodge Rams, Range Rovers, Ford Broncos, and Chevrolet Camaros, more.
• Brokers acted as middlemen, buying the stolen vehicles from thieves at cut-rate prices. They communicated through texts and calls, often sharing photos, VIN numbers, and drop-off instructions before arranging for the cars to be moved.
• Smugglers, including several of the indicted men, coordinated the storage, concealment, and shipment of the cars overseas.
The indictment reveals the group routinely staged stolen vehicles at industrial storage yards and warehouses, including the Greenfield Lot and the Fullerton Lot in Detroit.
From there, vehicles were hidden inside 40-foot shipping containers.
To fool freight companies and customs officers, the smugglers prepared falsified shipping paperwork that disguised the contents of the containers:
• One manifest described the load as auto parts — it was actually filled with complete stolen Dodge Durangos.
• Another listed 22 pallets of antifreeze, though the container was packed with high-end stolen SUVs.
Conspirators also discussed operational security. On March 7, 2025, Terrill Davis told Haydar Al Haydari he would check certain stolen cars for Apple AirTags, worried that rivals or police might use them to track the vehicles.
Evidence shows multiple destinations:
• Iraq – including a shipment of two stolen Range Rovers in August 2023.
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates – where Abbas Al Othman arranged containers through freight forwarders.
• Ghana and Jordan – listed as frequent resale markets for stolen cars.
• Each container typically carried $300,000–$500,000 in stolen cars.
• Federal agents say they’ve already recovered more than 350 vehicles linked to the operation.
The eight men indicted are:
• Haydar Al Haydari, 41, Garden City
• Karar Alnakash, 43, Detroit
• Abbas Al Othman, 42, Dearborn Heights
• Mohammed Al Hilo, 36, Detroit
• Moustapha Al Fetlawi, 46, Dearborn Heights
• Terrill Davis, 33, Detroit
• David Roshinsky Williams, 32, Harper Woods
• Mohammed Al Abboodi, 35, Detroit
The probe began with the Dearborn Police Department, when local officers noticed patterns of stolen high-end vehicles tied to freight activity. It expanded into a multi-agency task force, pulling in:
• Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)
• Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• The FBI Detroit Division
• The Southeast Michigan Auto Crimes Consortium (SEMACC)
