Miami-Dade men jailed in connection with big cigarette, box truck heist in Virginia

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Two Miami-Dade men were caught in South Florida and jailed at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as they await extradition to Virginia. Police in that state said Monday that they were involved in a large cigarette heist using a stolen box truck that prompted an investigation spanning multiple states.

Ramon Izquierdo, 57, of Hialeah, and Alberto Rico Perez, 31, of Miami Gardens, are each facing multiple charges.

Police said the heist happened on March 23 at a wholesaler in Culpeper, a town in northern Virginia about an hour and a half outside of Washington, D.C.

According to the Culpeper Police Department, five masked suspects forced entry into the business at around 9 p.m., stole a large number of cigarette cartons, then stole a rented box truck from the business and took off.

Police investigated thereafter and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms joined Virginia and Florida authorities, as well as law enforcement from Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina, a news release states.

Eventually, authorities were able to recover the box truck, police said.

Authorities said Doral police took Izqueirdo and Rico Perez into custody Friday, with help from the Miami-Dade County Fugitive Task Force.

Culpeper police Chief Chris Settle said in the news release that authorities used “emerging technology and dogged investigative determination” to identify the suspects.

In Virginia, the two South Florida men will appear in court on two counts each of felony grand larceny, as well as burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary charges.

According to Miami-Dade jail records and the Florida Department of Corrections, Izquierdo had been out on probation in South Florida after 2022 convictions for money laundering and cocaine trafficking.