Attorney General Michelle Henry announced the arrests of three men on Tuesday morning in Philadelphia. The men were caught stealing loads of beef from a parked tractor trailer as part of the collaborative “Operation Beef Bandit” investigation.
Agents from the Office of Attorney General, assisted by the Philadelphia Police Department, apprehended the suspects while they were stealing 1,600 pounds of beef from a locked tractor trailer on Edmund Street. The arrested individuals are Douglas Mathis, Jamir Scott, and Tariq Duncan. They face charges including corrupt organizations and theft. Bail for each was set at $200,000 cash during their arraignments on Tuesday.
“This was tenacious investigative work that involved collaboration between law enforcement agencies to stop high-value thefts from parked tractor trailers,” Attorney General Henry said. “I commend the timely work of our Organized Crime Section who tracked this crew and, essentially, caught them in the act.”
The initial arrests from “Operation Beef Bandit” were recently announced by law enforcement. This operation is led by New Jersey State Police. Agents from the Office of Attorney General and Philadelphia Police Department collaborated with New Jersey officials to track down the three men arrested on Tuesday.
The suspects were seen wearing dark clothing and masks while breaking a lock on the tractor trailer. They carried 25 cases of beef valued at $7,000 from the rig to their van.
Senior Deputy Attorney General Helen Park will prosecute the case with the Office of Attorney General’s Organized Crime Section. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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