After $1.5M luxury car theft ring, another NJ man heads to prison

🚔 NJ man gets prison for $1.5M car theft ring

🚔 Luxury cars stolen from NJ, NY, CT

🚔Car was found in NJ shipping container, headed for Africa

A Union County man has been sentenced to just under four years in prison for his role in a luxury car theft ring that struck in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced.

Malik Baker, 30, of the Vauxhall section of Union previously pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to conspiring to transport stolen vehicles in interstate commerce and receiving a stolen vehicle that had crossed state lines after being stolen.

Three other NJ residents — Hakeem Smith, Nafique Goodwyn and Bilal Cureton — all previously pleaded guilty to related charges.

Smith was sentenced last April to 41 months in prison.

Goodwyn was sentenced last week, on Feb. 27, to time served.

Cureton was still awaiting sentencing.

SEE ALSO: Fourth NJ man admits role in $1.5M car theft ring in NJ, NY, CT https://nj1015.com/luxury-car-theft-ring-port-newark-targets-nj-ny-ct

The group stole at least 10 luxury cars worth a combined $1.5 million from towns in NJ, NY and CT and hid those cars at a location in Irvington, between July and September 2019.

The men often used stolen cars to then steal others — including using a Maserati GranTurisimo stolen from Manalapan to steal a Range Rover and a Porsche Cayenne in Rockland County, NY.

Also stolen from NJ homes was a Lexus GS in West Long Branch and BMW M4 stolen from Marlton.

A Mercedes stolen as part of the operation was later recovered from a shipping container at Port Newark bound for Africa, Sellinger previously said.

In addition to the prison term, Baker was sentenced to three years of supervised release.