Summary: Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) investigators traveled to Miami with arrest warrants for two Cuban nationals as a result of a joint investigation with the Miami-Dade Cargo Theft Task Force. The two subjects, Yoandy Linares Machado and Yosvani Cordero, were responsible for the theft of a load of batteries from Dalton, Georgia in November 2014.
In January 2015, a portion of the batteries were recovered by the Miami-Dade Cargo Theft Task Force during a search warrant of a warehouse in Miami, Florida. On the evening of August 3, 2015, a surveillance was established at the residences of both wanted subjects. One of the subjects was arrested after being followed to a local bar. The second subject was arrested at his residence.
While serving the arrest warrant investigators found a large amount of dunnage containing tobacco shipping labels and empty boxes and a passcode to a local storage facility. Following these findings agents promptly reached out to CargoNet to inquire about any recent tobacco product cargo thefts. With the information provided the CargoNet analyst responded with the confirmation of a recent tobacco theft in the CargoNet system. The analyst then sent all of the information to the investigators and a search warrant was obtained for the unit. The search revealed approximately 750 cartons (15 pallets) of a recent tobacco theft that were identified as stolen in Winter Heaven, Florida during a cargo theft on July 24, 2015. It is estimated that the retail value of the recovery is approximately $500,000..