ORLANDO, Fla. — What started as an investigation into the 2015 theft of weapons at the Central Florida Fairgrounds has turned into the Orlando police department's biggest gang racketeering case in the agency's history, officers said Thursday.
On July 5, 2015, more than a dozen people stormed the Central Florida Fairgrounds, stealing weapons from a gun show that had just closed. Nearly 20 guns were stolen, police said at the time.
More than three and a half years later, Orlando police announced the end of Operation Gang Theft Auto, a complex investigation involving 37 law enforcement agencies and 90 different cases.
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After the gun show heist, police said they learned more than five gangs were working together to commit a variety of crimes.
“The OPD gang unit started looking at subjects involved and noticed a trend of burglaries, shootings and robberies that were being committed in and around Orange County,” said Orlando police Chief Orlando Rolón.
- Previous coverage: Surveillance shows teens stealing weapons from Orlando gun show
Some of those cases included cars stolen from dealerships. Many of the thefts were captured on surveillance video.
“163 vehicles were stolen from dealerships within the state of Florida. Those vehicles were often used to commit additional crimes,” Rolón said.
In July 2018, police shut down I-4 on one of the busiest travel days of the year to arrest one of the people involved in the 2015 gun show heist.
Thursday’s announcement included nine arrests, but more could be coming in the future. Part of an affidavit released Thursday includes a list of redacted names that is 192 pages long.
(BELOW) From the WFTV Archive: Thieves steal guns from Orlando gun show (RAW SURVEILLANCE VIDEO)
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