Operation Escalading Switch: 3 arrests made in Phoenix area amid anti-organized vehicle theft operation

PHOENIX – Officials with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said three people in Glendale have been arrested as part of an operation that targeted organized vehicle theft in the Phoenix area.

What we know:

In a statement released on June 19, DPS officials said 29-year-old Ali Ahmad, 32-year-old Delia Rocha, and 33-year-old Mario Garcia Rodriguez were arrested as part of “Operation Escalading Switch.”

Officials said that members of the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force, with the support of other agencies, served what they referred to as “coordinated search warrants” at seven separate locations in the Phoenix area on June 17.

“The operation resulted in the recovery of 29 stolen vehicles valued at nearly $2.5 million, and the seizure of numerous items—including weapons and cash—linked to proceeds from a sophisticated criminal vehicle theft ring,” read a portion of the statement.

Dig deeper:

DPS officials said the investigation “revealed the theft ring operated with alarming speed and efficiency, stealing high-end vehicles, altering vehicle identification numbers, and listing the vehicles on Turo—a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform—for rental by unsuspecting customers within as little as one week of the initial theft.”

“Profits from this ring have been tracked to accounts in the United States, Mexico, and the Middle East,” officials wrote.

What Turo Officials Are Saying:

As DPS officials Officials with Turo have issued a statement regarding the operation. It reads:

“We’re grateful to AZDPS, the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force, and Turo’s dedicated Trust and Safety investigators for working together to remove these criminals from Phoenix metro streets. Unfortunately, this host’s insider access to the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles enabled them to disguise stolen vehicles as legitimate rentals. We immediately collaborated with investigators to expose the full scheme. Moreover, criminal behavior is extremely rare on our platform and we have zero tolerance for it. Our Trust and Safety team, many former law enforcement, remains dedicated to keeping our car sharing community safe by removing criminals from our platform and assisting law enforcement with putting culprits behind bars.”

What’s next:

According to court documents we have obtained for the three suspects, Ahmad is accused of the following:

Court documents for both Rocha and Rodriguez list a count of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices. Rocha and Rodriguez are also listed as co-defendants in Ahmad’s court document.

As for bail, a judge has set a cash-only bond of $250,000 for Ahmad. Alongside other conditions, Ahmad must surrender all his passports at his next court appearance if he gets bail.

Meanwhile, a cash-only bond of $25,000 was set for both Rocha and Rodriguez. The two must also surrender their passports, along with other conditions, should they get bail.

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