A Hialeah man is now the second suspect arrested in connection with the theft of a tractor-trailer containing around $100,000 worth of poultry products, and police say he's a suspect in a separate $400,000 meat theft.
Jorge Lyen Blanco-Diaz, 38, was arrested Monday on charges including grand theft of cargo, grand theft of a vehicle and unlawful use of a communications device, records show.
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A second man, 49-year-old Raul Bello, was arrested earlier this month on the same charges in connection with the chicken caper.
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The theft happened back on Sept. 15 when the tractor-trailer was stolen near the driver's home in the area of Old State Road 9 and Northwest 155th Lane in Miami.
According to an arrest report, the driver said he'd been alerted by his sister that the truck, worth $60,000, and trailer, worth $80,000, were gone.
Inside was assorted frozen poultry valued at $100,000, the report said.
License plate readers captured the tractor-trailer heading north on Interstate 95 about a mile from where it was stolen followed by a white Nissan NV200 van, the report said.
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Another license plate reader captured the tractor-trailer and Nissan van in the area of W. 33rd Avenue and W. 84th Street in Hialeah, the report said.
Police tracked down the van and started conducting surveillance, and found Bello driving it, the report said.
Investigators obtained Bello's cellphone information that showed him in the area of the tractor-trailer theft, the report said. The info also showed he'd communicated with a number associated with a co-defendant in the tractor trailer theft, the report said.
The co-defendant, Blanco-Diaz, is currently on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor related to two other cases, an arrest report said.
According to the report, the ankle monitor data showed it was at the theft location the date of the crime before and during the time the truck and trailer were stolen.
Blanco-Diaz was identified as being part of a major theft organization and he's a suspect in another cargo theft case from September 2023 involving a truck and semi-trailer loaded with assorted meat products worth around $400,000, the report said.
When Blanco-Diaz was taken into custody, he refused to speak with detectives without a lawyer, the report said.
Bello, who is on probation until November 2030 in a case involving burglary, assault and possession of illegal weapons, was taken into custody when he drove the Nissan van to the Florida Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Services Office, the report said.
Both men were booked into jail. Attorney information wasn't available.
