Four very junkyard-looking locations in Oakland, Richmond, and San Leandro were on the business end of FBI raids Wednesday, in an investigation of what the FBI and Bay Area police think is a diesel fuel theft ring.

Both NBC Bay Area and KTVU were covering the story that FBI agents raided four East Bay locations Wednesday morning, in what is apparently an investigation into a stolen diesel fuel ring. Both reports are short on details, but the Bay Area News Groups seems way ahead on this one, noting that the raids come "amid reports that a group of thieves had set up a station to sell stolen gasoline at an East Oakland chop shop."

Well, folks, here is a photo of that alleged chop shop, and it is one of four East Bay locations raided today by the FBI and various NorCal police departments. KTVU describes the location as "a lot at 4220 Alameda Ave., near the Home Depot on High Street," though we should clarify the place has nothing to do with Home Depot, it is just nearby. That outlet adds that the place is routinely littered with "shipping containers and battered cars in what appeared to be a junkyard.”

And the Bay Area News Group notes that the place was already raided in May when Oakland police identified it as the site of "a suspected large-scale cargo theft ring." That outlet adds that the Wednesday raid seized “two trailers, a forklift, a motorcycle, and five cars all of which were suspected to be stolen,” and that the May raid turned up more than a dozen cars which were proven to have been stolen.

Previous Bay Area News Group reporting identifies the lot’s owner as a “suspected professional diesel fuel thief,” though oddly, does not name him. But that previous reporting was in relation to his 35-year-old ex-girlfriend turning up dead in a bathtiub in a death that police deemed “suspicious,” as well as his possible involvement in the death of Lucky Three Seven restuarant co-owner Artgel Fernando “Jun” Anabo Jr. So certainly trouble seems to find this fellow.

But as far as the stolen fuel investigation, one of the lead law enforcement organizations is actually the Greenfield Police Department, from a Monterey County town suspected to somehow be part of the ring.

“Organized fuel theft operations often involve the illegal resale of stolen fuel and pose serious public safety risks due to unsafe handling and storage of highly flammable materials," the Greenfield Police Department said in a statement to NBC Bay Area. "These crimes are commonly associated with broader organized criminal activity."

Per NBC Bay Area, Wednesday's raids were executed at these locations:

• The 4200 block of Alameda Avenue in Oakland
• The 1000 block of 45th Avenue in Oakland
• The 1600 block of Sixth Street in Richmond
• The 3100 block of Alvarado Avenue in San Leandro

Authorities were quick to stress that Wednesday’s East Bay raids were not in any way related to ICE immigration enforcement, and no ICE agents were involved in Wednesday’s activities.

Related: Gas Thief Accidentally Torches Six Cars In Antioch eBART Parking Lot [SFist]

Image: Google Street View