LAREDO, TX – Iram Eduardo Hernandez, 20, was arrested recently in connection with an auto-theft ring that scammed vehicle owners and diverted their stolen vehicles to Mexican cartels. Hernandez was served with an arrest warrant charging him with theft of property, a second-degree felony. He remains in Webb County Jail as of Tuesday.
According to the Laredo Police Department (LPD), Hernandez was part of a vehicle theft ring targeting transport companies. The scammers would approach vehicle owners, claiming to be companies offering vehicle transport services to pick up cars from auto auctions or dealerships. However, after obtaining gate codes for vehicle pickup, the scammers would secretly change the destinations of the vehicles to Laredo, instead of their intended destinations, and hire legitimate transport companies to move the vehicles.
Unaware of the scam, the legitimate transport companies would deliver the stolen cars to Laredo, where they were later smuggled across the border to Mexico, intended for cartel use.
The case began to unravel on December 13, when an officer found a 2023 Dodge Ram 2500 in a Walmart parking lot in Laredo, an area previously flagged by the LPD Auto-Theft Task Force. The truck was unlocked, with the keys left on the driver’s seat, and was impounded to prevent further theft.
Later, investigators discovered three other stolen Dodge Ram 2500s near downtown Laredo, all of which had been redirected from their original routes from Manheim Fort Worth to Manheim Phoenix. The vehicles were supposed to be moved across states, but they had instead ended up in Laredo, ready to be smuggled into Mexico.
Further investigation linked Hernandez’s fingerprints to the thefts. Forensic analysis showed his prints on one of the stolen trucks, and video surveillance footage connected him to the theft of several stolen Dodge Rams. Authorities also learned that one of the stolen vehicles, a 2022 Jeep Wagoneer, had already crossed into Mexico.
In total, the scam ring was responsible for the theft of seven vehicles, including the stolen Dodge Rams, Jeep Wagoneer, and Chrysler Pacifica. While some of the stolen cars have been recovered, others, including the Pacifica, are still missing.
Hernandez is currently facing charges for his involvement in this large-scale theft operation that spanned multiple states and led to the smuggling of stolen cars to Mexican cartels.