Roohullah Abdul-Rauof, 47, was arrested Tuesday on hundreds of charges, records showed. A South Florida business owner is facing charges after authorities found multiple stolen cars and engines in shipping containers at PortMiami that were headed to the United Arab Emirates.
Abdul-Rauof was arrested on eight counts of dealing in stolen property, eight counts of grand theft of a vehicle, four counts of grand theft, four counts of fraudulently obtaining a vehicle title or registration, 274 counts of transferring a vehicle title with no purchaser name, 20 counts of selling or transporting a vehicle without a title or with a false title, and one count of owning, operating or aiding and abetting a chop shop, according to records.
According to an arrest report, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered a 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe, a 2016 Hyundai Sonata, and a 2017 Hyundai Sonata in a shipping container on Sept. 22. All three vehicles had been stolen in Miami-Dade and were being shipped to the United Arab Emirates.
The seized container belonged to Abdul-Rauof and his company, Shine Motors, located in Opa-locka, authorities said. Officers also found four unmanifested engines linked to vehicles stolen in Miami-Dade and Plantation.
On Oct. 7, CBP officers intercepted another shipping container headed to the United Arab Emirates. Inside was a 2025 Chevrolet Tahoe that had been reported stolen by the Broward Sheriff’s Office. This container, too, was tied to Abdul-Rauof and his business.
On Oct. 15, investigators from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office inspected Shine Motors and found several engines and vehicle doors connected to cars reported stolen in Miami-Dade and Broward. The total estimated value of recovered property exceeded $214,000, the report said.
Authorities also found that Abdul-Rauof had 274 Florida vehicle title certificates that were never properly transferred into the business’s name.
He was taken into custody and later appeared in bond court Wednesday. His attorney, Zeljka Bozanic, requested a reasonable bond, saying Abdul-Rauof ships cars for customers, does not own them, has lived in the U.S. since 2016, and has no prior arrests.
Prosecutors argued he was a flight risk, noting that he lives in Doral but is a citizen of Afghanistan. The judge set his bond at $145,500 and ordered him to surrender his passport.
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