7 charged with organized criminal activity in multimillion-dollar North Texas cargo theft ring
GRAPEVINE – Seven suspects in a multimillion-dollar cargo theft ring have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity after law enforcement in North Texas disrupted the alleged operation, the Grapevine Police Department said.
It started with a security camera video showing a hole cut through a warehouse door. A masked figure then loads $500,000 worth of Ray Ban smart glasses and other expensive high-tech eyewear onto a waiting truck.
"So with that, they had video inside of that warehouse," said Oscar Ramirez. with the Grapevine Police Department. "So we were able to use that, gather as much intel as we can; share that with neighboring agencies."
Grapevine Police had no idea at the time that the security camera video would be the first piece of evidence that would be used to bring down a multimillion-dollar cargo theft operation months later.
A Grapevine police crime analyst created a bulletin featuring photos of the suspects, a stolen truck, and their burglary methods. Another law enforcement agency suspected the group was linked to similar burglaries in their jurisdiction, police said. The analyst then discovered crime bulletins from other North Texas cities involving the same burglary techniques.
"It's not very often that you get to bust a ring like this," Ramirez said, "that's as active as they are ... The iPads, the iPhones, the Xboxes, the PlayStations, any type of electronic that's, you know, of high value, they would target."
According to police, the theft ring was responsible for burglaries totaling more than $10 million in five cities: Grapevine, Plano, Fort Worth, Coppell and Dallas.
"The whole entire Dallas-Fort Worth area," said Ramirez. "And I think some of the merchandise was being even shipped out of state. So yeah, hell yeah. It was a large organization."
In August, a suspect vehicle was observed near a warehouse known for storing large quantities of electronics. Drone surveillance confirmed an active burglary at the warehouse.
Authorities said the suspects narrowly avoided capture using multiple lookouts throughout the city, who tipped them off to the police response seconds before the officers' arrival; however, one suspect was apprehended that night. The six others were arrested between August and earlier this month.
- Adrian Ellison, 38, of Dallas
- Julius Green, 40, of Dallas
- Willie Hill, 38, of Dallas
- Fayzal Kara, 40, of Carrollton
- Ronnie Vaden, 33, of Dallas
- Derrick White, 38, of Dallas
- Eric White, 33, of Dallas
Believed to be active since at least 2023, the group has been linked to seven burglaries between August 2023 and June 2024.
