Three arrested for fraud after tip

Three females were arrested in Wichita County for a series of crimes that occurred in Vernon last week. The Vernon Police Department contacted the Wichita County’s Sheriff’s office on Wednesday, August 31 regarding a vehicle involved in a theft.
Working off that tip, at around 5:15 p.m., information was relayed about a vehicle involved in several thefts in Vernon, and the vehicle was believed to be heading east out of Vernon on 287. A Wichita County Highway Interdiction Deputy made a traffic stop involving that suspect vehicle at the intersection of U.S. 287 and S.H. 25 near Electra.
The driver, Luana Maria Cardenas, 31, and two passengers, Karen Shirley Novoa-Martinez, 30, and Luz Dary Garcia-Celes, 53, were placed under arrest. According to authorities a checkbook and five credit cards belonging to a person in Vernon, 29 gift cards, five cellular telephones, 21 debit/credit cards and $2,828 in U.S. Currency was found in the vehicle.
It was later reported by authorities that the three subjects were part of a South American organized theft ring that stole gift cards and debit cards to send funds overseas to fund terrorists.
The suspects were transported to the Wichita County Detention Center and were charged with fraudulent possession of credit/debit card information.