Actually, the other half is never satisfied. They want more and more, paid for by us.
Posted on 07/18/2014 10:22:10 AM PDT by PoloSec
Some 40 Land Rover owners across the U.S. woke up Tuesday morning to police and federal investigators knocking on their doors and demanding they hand over their trucks. Officials say it's part of an ongoing criminal investigation into the illegal importation of Land Rovers into this country, Jalopnik has learned.
But that will likely come as little consolation to the 40 owners of the Land Rover 90s, 110s and Defenders, many of whom contest what federal authorities claim about the legality of their cars.
News of the seizures first appeared on the Land Rover Defender forum Defender Source around 8 a.m. Tuesday, when one user posted to say that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security came to his home at 6:45 a.m. to seize his truck. That user was quickly joined by several others, who said their Land Rovers were confiscated by investigators who came to their homes with federal warrants.
One of them was Danny Harrington, who lives in Albany, New York. Last year he bought a 1983 Land Rover 110 through a friend in New York. He told Jalopnik that police drove around his residence looking for his truck, and then went to his parents' house 10 miles away to find it — a house where it wasn't even registered.
"They told me it was illegally imported, and the guy who imported it last year falsified the paperwork on the truck," Harrington said. The investigators came to the house with a list of VIN numbers and said his was on it, and that they were taking it with them.
Curiously, Harrington said police insisted his Land Rover was a year 2000 model. He says that his VIN number definitely goes back to a 1979 to 1984 truck, and not a newer one.
"It's clearly a 1983," he said of his very obviously older project vehicle. "It's not a show truck. It's a mess. It's a work truck."
Vincent Picard, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said authorities believe the cars were unlawfully brought into the U.S.
"ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents served court-ordered seizure warrants on approximately 40 Land Rovers in various locations around the country," he said in an email. "The seizures are being made pursuant to an ongoing criminal investigation involving the unlawful importation of the vehicles from Great Britain. The Land Rovers, which do not meet federal safety or emission standards, cannot be lawfully operated in the United States."
That was news to Harrington, who says he bought the car legally in New York last year and has a title to prove it. "I don't even know who imported it," he said.
Forum member Hitch weighed in as well:
I had 2 homeland security agents, state police, and local sheriff in my drive way when I went outside to go to work today. My, what I believe to be an 1986 110 was arrested and seized about 8:30 this morning.
When I purchased my vehicle I went to NC from Florida to look at and drive it. I compared the VIN on the bill of sale to the frame VIN and the VIN plate near the master cylinder. I in no way thought I was gambling in purchasing a vehicle that was licensed in NC. and had been in the states for a year prior to me purchasing it. The state police detective showed me where the engine block VIN had been filed and re-stamped.
On the dept of treasury process receipt it lists Land Rover Vehicles and the defendant. There are 61 VINS listed on the warrant. I was told I have 35 days to file a claim and was not given a form or anything to file. I spoke to the attorney listed on the complaint and he told me the case is still and open investigation and could not talk to me about it for another 24-48 hours.
So it's possible more than just these 40 Land Rovers are being targeted.
Picard directed further questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, but an official there said the case was under seal and that no one could discuss it.
So it's not clear exactly why the Land Rovers have been taken, but last year some 20 Defenders were seized by Homeland Security and Customs from a chiropractor's house in suburban North Carolina, Car and Driver reported at the time. Exclusive: Feds Declare War on Black-Market Land Rover Defenders
About half of the action movies made in the 1980s and 1990s, it seems, end up with a final showdown …Read on blog.caranddriver.com
Meanwhile, nobody at either NHTSA or CBP could comment on the status of Aaron Richardet, the chiropractor. Several people in the Defender community have told us that "Doc Aaron" was running a business importing later-model Defenders; if that's true, he's likely facing trouble.
It would appear that these latest seizures are also related to that federal criminal case, which targeted Richardet. Members of the Land Rover forum seem to think the same thing.
With a federal criminal case, it's going to be tough — if not impossible — to get anyone to comment on the record about what happened here until indictments are handed down, if that even happens. My sense is that these Land Rovers were all seized as evidence in that case.
(A spokesman for Jaguar-Land Rover said the investigation appears to be related to cars sold by unaffiliated third parties.)
Picard, the ICE spokesman, added: "The vehicle owners, who are victims of this criminal scheme, will have an opportunity to seek restitution for their losses."
That's what Harrington probably plans on doing, although said he still doesn't understand why police had to come to his house to take his car or why his car's VIN number registers as a newer one to federal investigators.
"I just don't understand why this was so aggressive," he said.
They should have run those LRs down into Arkansas, went to the DMV and got a clean new Arkansas title, no matter how many excess titles were floating around for the same vehicles in other states.
$50.00! New, clean ARKANSAS title! No questions asked!
***My wife had an LR2 for about three years,***
Anything like the ANTICHRIST in THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY?
Dijja buy a Honda?
In 2002 when I visited Russia I was introduced to a vehicle dealer who said he could “re-VIN” a UAZ (a Russian made imitation Jeep) which I was interested in purchasing and taking back to the U.S.
The deal I was offered was: $3,500 (US) purchase price for a brand new 2001 model, plus $1,200 to ship it to the U.S., plus another $1,000 to have the VIN “officially” changed so that the vehicle would become a 1976 model, and therefore 25 years old and exempt from emissions and safety standards.
I ended up passing on the deal because:
1) I was worried about getting caught and having my vehicle seized.
2) the UAZ does not have a particularly good reputation for reliability and there are VERY few UAZ dealers (somewhere around zero) in the United States.
3) I did not 100% trust the folks I was dealing with in Russia.
Yes, but did the tail-light leak oil?
I had an old Triumph motorcycle once that developed a crack in the crankcase breather/overflow tube where it ran along the rear fender. The leak was in such a location that when oil mist leaked out through the crack it entered the tail light assembly.
At some point prior to me discovering the crack, the tail light bulb burned out (not an unusual occurrence on those paint-shakers). When I unscrewed the lens and removed it to replace the bulb about 4 ounces of oil leaked out.
First off I know I will sleep much better knowing these criminal illegally immigrant cars are off the road.
Second. It is good that there is nothing else happening with illegal importation, say like Illegal immigrants pouring across the border, that there are enough federal officers to find 40 vehicles all around the nation.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/04/28/west-coast-defender-land-rover/8047505/
Sounds like my '72 Corvette. I was about 4 miles up the road after leaving the dealer and noticed that the oil pressure gauge was fluctuating and oil was flowing down the console towards my feet. Someone at the factory forgot to tighten everything down. Nothing like bringing a car in for service with less than 10 miles on it.
Yep. And the really sad thing is that half of the country is perfectly OK with it as long as they get their free sh*t from the other half.
Well, they apparently have been illegally imported. The same argument applies. Also, the article states that VIN numbers have been filed and re stamped. So compliance with laws is a legal requirement. Again the same argument applies. The laws should be equally applied to all.
Funniest post of the day!
Actually, the other half is never satisfied. They want more and more, paid for by us.
The states themselves usually make owners test their car for emissions. This whole thing stinks of some kind of shake down.Why have Congress pay for stuff when you can seize money without them?
The commonality seems to be with one particular dealership in NC. Wilmington, I believe.
From my link above:
“...Bottom line here on this....if you had your truck TOUCHED by this fellow in NC you are more than likely on the list managed by CBP. Their only way to track you and your truck is via VIN# from his records.
Other than that the only way it can be done is via state maintained DMV records(i.e. search all 1975-1989 Land Rovers) - but this is another herculean feat for interagency cooperation - not that it can’t be done....just difficult and time consuming.
So, bottom line - they are running down every truck touched by this person in NC that they have the records and history on...I said it when the original seizure occurred, and it was brought up numerous times since.
Yes it is a tragedy - and once again - that person should be blacklisted, and held accountable....”
__________________
These are legitimate vehicles, but not approved for US safety and pollution standards. The US versions are much wimpier. Since US law has an exemption for vehicles over 25 years old, SHAZAM, there’s a flood of 1989 and older Rovers for sale that are newer models from outside the US being passed off as older ones.
Not really a big deal, and there’s no real crime involved.
Well, they (wisely) have engines built by Ford, but I don't know of any stock Explorer with 500hp.
Nobody who's driven one, especially off-road, would confuse it for a Ford.
Ran across this story from a year ago (I’m a big RR fan):
http://blog.caranddriver.com/exclusive-feds-declare-war-on-black-market-land-rover-defenders/
Except that if the vehicle is stolen, there are potentially two victims (the ‘new’ owner and the person from whom the vehicle was stolen. In that case, returning it to its original owner is the just thing to do.
However, if the only crime was by a car dealer “illegally importing” the vehicle then there is a good chance the person who bought it is the only victim, so seizing the vehicle is perhaps not the most just solution to the problem.
They are not illegally imported: They are “Undocumented Vehicles”.
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