Credit Card Thieves Had High-Tech Smuggling Compartment in Dashboard

Credit Card Thieves Had High-Tech Smuggling Compartment in Dashboard

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ – A high-tech cocaine dealer and credit card thief had a hidden compartment in his dashboard that opened electronically to hide his drugs and credit cards. Police arrested Robert Diaz and Jose Pichardo, both of New York, on identity theft and drug charges.

“On March 31, 2022, an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotic Task Force revealed that Diaz and Pichardo had cocaine and were involved in stealing identities of unsuspecting victims,” Chief Jason Love said. “During this investigation, a search was conducted on PICHARDO’s vehicle in Leonia, NJ. That search revealed a sophisticated electronically operated hidden compartment in the vehicle’s dashboard.”

That hidden compartment contained cocaine and fourteen stolen credit cards from fourteen different victims. Both men were arrested at the scene of the search.