By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN – The Wayne County Prosecutor’s office has charged four men who stole and resold thousands of new vehicle parts from the Ford Rouge plant in 2025 over a several month period.
The four men, Wissam Faraj, 35, of Canton Township, and Dearborn residents Aiman Kahil, 25, Firas Kahil, 36, and Badr Kahil, 63, sold the new parts online and through a local auto business.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the defendants “brazenly engaged in criminal activities.”
“They allegedly stole new car and truck parts from Ford Motor Company and sold them on eBay to line their own pockets,” she said. “It was lucrative, shameless and absolutely illegal.”
Faraj was a former Ford employee who was terminated in 2025, who was associated with Startec Auto, while the three Kahils were all associated with Startec Auto.
They face charges for conducting a criminal enterprise, receiving and concealing stolen property, and racketeering.
From March 8, 2025, to March 22, 2025, Faraj stole thousands of dollars’ worth of parts and delivered them to Startec in Detroit.
When employees became aware of missing parts and empty dunnage where it did not belong on March 10, 2025, an internal investigation was launched, with focus on Faraj. On March 19, 2025, the Dearborn Police Department was brought in to investigate.
A sting operation was begun April 8, 2025, with controlled buys May 1 and 5 of the allegedly stolen parts from Startec.
Search warrants were executed May 5 on Startec businesses, Faraj’s residence and the Kahil residence.
In June 2025 Dearborn Police officials submitted a warrant request to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, after which, for the next year and a half, an investigative team looked at surveillance camera footage from multiple business locations, at phone and computer data, at text messages, emails, photos and videos, at online accounts and at cell tower records to build the case.
Thousands of parts in inventory helped establish evidence of the criminal enterprise, as did financial records and witness interviews.
Aiman Kahil would allegedly order auto parts from Faraj, who would allegedly steal them from the Ford Rouge plant and deliver to Startec for the Kahils to sell.
Surveillance camera footage shows Faraj driving his truck into the Ford Rouge facility and triggering automatic door that would open without any badge reader to access a parts storage area.
He may have entered areas on weekends when production was shut down. The area where he alleged loaded his pickup with parts did not have surveillance cameras.
However, surveillance camera footage at Startec recorded Faraj’s truck as he allegedly delivered the stolen auto parts.
Conversations between Faraj and Aiman Kahil were recorded with them discussing payment and stolen part orders, as well as Faraj’s logistical plans to steal the parts.
Thousands of stolen Ford Motor Company vehicle parts were recovered.
The four men were arraigned the afternoon of Nov. 10 at Dearborn’s 19th District Court in front of Judge Sam A. Salamey.