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Kent Police bust alleged chop shop on East Hill along South 240th St. | Photos

Published 1:42 pm Monday, February 26, 2024

By Steve Hunter

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Kent Police executed a search warrant on an alleged chop shop on the East Hill at 9613 S. 240th St. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent Police
Officers search an alleged chop shop in Kent. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent Police
A vehicle at an alleged chop shop on the East Hill. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent Police
A handgun found on the property of an alleged chop shop in Kent. COURTESY PHOTO, Kent Police

Kent Police led a bust of an alleged chop shop on the East Hill that resulted in the recovery of 14 stolen vehicles, several trailers, ATVs, stolen engines and car parts.

Multiple firearms, ammunition, methamphetamine, and suspected fentanyl, which are commonly associated to stolen vehicles, also were seized, according to a Feb. 23 Kent Police news release.

The Kent Police Department Neighborhood Response Team, with the assistance of the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, executed a search warrant Feb. 15 on the property at 9613 S. 240th St., which is just west of East Hill Elementary School.

Months and hundreds of hours of investigating and surveillance led to the search of the property. The suspects reportedly were identified as a part of an auto-theft ring that have extensive history with auto theft and unlawful firearm possession, according to police.

Officers arrested a 36-year-old Kent man at the scene.

“We anticipate several felony level charges, but the investigation is still ongoing,” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said in a Feb. 26 email.

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