OAKLAND — FBI agents swept through the East Bay Wednesday morning, hitting a series of locations amid reports that a group of thieves had set up a station to sell stolen gasoline at an East Oakland chop shop, authorities said.
The investigation centers on a property on the 4200 block of Alameda Avenue, the same location that the California Highway Patrol raided last May while looking into a suspected large-scale cargo theft ring, according to court records. On Wednesday, authorities seized two trailers, a forklift, a motorcycle, and five cars all of which were suspected to be stolen, authorities said. In the May raid, police seized three firearms and recovered four suspected stolen cars and trailers in the same lot, and a dozen in the lot directly across the street, court records show.
Federal and local authorities comb through evidence at a property on the 4200 block of Alameda Avenue in East Oakland on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Jakob Rodgers/Bay Area News Group)
Wednesday’s raid on Alameda Avenue involved police in Oakland and Greenfield — a city in Monterey County — as well as the FBI, authorities said. Investigators believe the group was stealing gasoline around California and offering it for sale at a discount at the Alameda Avenue location, near High Street and Interstate 880.
Authorities also raided properties on the 1000 block of 45th Avenue in Oakland, the 1600 block of 6th Street in Richmond and the 3100 block of Alvarado Avenue in San Leandro, according to Greenfield police.
The CHP investigation was prompted by the theft of a stolen cargo trailer in late April, which was later located in Oakland. During the probe, an employee at the alleged Alameda Avenue chop shop identified a 38-year-old man as his “boss,” telling authorities the man owned the property and was responsible for the stolen goods there, authorities said.
Police were familiar with the 38-year-old man already. He was considered a suspect in the May 2022 killing of Artgel “Jun” Anabo Jr. on the 2800 block of Brookdale Avenue in Oakland, a shooting allegedly sparked by a dispute over a car that turned out to be stolen. He has not been charged.
The 38-year-old man was also arrested in July 2022, at a San Ramon apartment where his 35-year-old girlfriend died in a bathtub.
Federal and local authorities comb through evidence at a property on the 4200 block of Alameda Avenue in East Oakland on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Jakob Rodgers/Bay Area News Group)
The woman’s death was later ruled to be a fentanyl overdose, but during the probe, police arrested him on suspicion of battering her, and found a bag of suspected fentanyl inside a stolen Ford F-250 labeled “eFuel Fleet Services” in the parking lot. The vehicle was also full of counterfeit DMV receipts from Texas, fake license plates, stolen credit card information, dozens of keys and indicia with the man’s name on it, according to court records.
When investigators interviewed the man back in May, after arresting him for questioning, he denied responsibility for the stolen property and blamed the man who’d accused him of being the “boss,” telling police he was trying to get the guy out of the area, authorities said. Once again, he avoided criminal charges.