Roll-Back wreckers being stolen in Florida

Stimw · Jul 25, 2013

Flatbed tow trucks stolen in Putnam County | News - Home

Here is a heads up on something going on in Florida.
If you have a recovery business anywhere you might want to be on alert to protect your equipment.

They have been stealing boats and motors in South Florida for a long time. I guess they found another target.

Diamondpilot · Jul 25, 2013

We were having cars stolen ay 30 times the average here a few years back. Mainly from mall and store parking lots. Come to find out it was a guy with a roll back.

Perfect cover if you think of it. If you caught him in the act he just says he was dispatched to get that make and model and he was sorry but must have the wrong car. If he did not get caught by the owner the he just played it off like he was sent to retrieve a vehicle that would not start.

It took them 2 years to catch him and they stated that he was responsible for 250 plus thefts.

Chris

two_bit_score · Jul 26, 2013

.
"The Putnam County Sheriff's Office isn't saying much about the investigation, but it is possible that the thieves could be using those tow trucks to steal cars. Another theory is that they are being shipped overseas."
.

Probably fit real nice in a shipping container.

.

paulharvey · Jul 26, 2013

A lot of stolen cars, trucks, and equipment end up in carribean/south america. I live in Putnam county, and its not exactly an organized crime mecca.

Stimw · Jul 27, 2013

paulharvey said:
A lot of stolen cars, trucks, and equipment end up in carribean/south america. I live in Putnam county, and its not exactly an organized crime mecca.

I doubt it is a local crime problem but that they came in and took advantage of a quiet area of Florida.
A Roll-Back won't fit in a container but South Florida has small loading areas where they could put on small ships headed to South America.
There are theft rings that steal boats, strip them of their outboards and dump them. Those engines are probably going into containers headed south.
Once in a while they bust some guys in a storage yard stealing outboards. But the theft rate is very high. Care to guess their heiritage???

busy dad · Jul 29, 2013

We had a guy stealing front end loaders from job sites at night..The Police one night even blocked traffic for him to pull onto the highway...If you look like you belong often people don't ask questions.