More stolen cars are being shipped overseas from Tri-State Area ports. An expert says it's a "world epidemic."

NEWARK, N.J. — There is an alarming rise in the number of stolen cars found at Tri-State Area ports, ready to be shipped overseas.

CBS News New York's Derick Waller recently toured the Port of Newark, where the number of cars seized keeps climbing. Jeffrey Greene is the acting director at the Port of New York and Newark, where customs officials acting on tips are x-raying containers and seizing stolen cars. Looking into one container, Greene pointed out two junk vehicles hiding a perfectly intact Mercedes in the back.

In another container, officials found a Chevy Silverado that had been stolen right off a dealer lot. "So last year, the Port of New York-Newark here, we led the country in seized vehicles ..

. We had 368 vehicles. That's more than a car a day," Greene said.

Already through August this year, they're up to 331, on track to outpace last year's numbers. Investigators say the markets currently paying the most are in West Africa. Video shared on social media shows a luxury SUV rolling out of a shipping container ready to be sold in Nigeria.

Other sellers posting online don't even bother to remove the American license plates. "You can usually drive around at leisure with that plate on. No one will ever question you," said Dr.

Ken German, a former police officer with a Ph.D. in international vehicle crime.

"It's a world epidemic ...

And it's because the organized criminals, they're probably laughing at us, actually, because they're not only making lots of money, but th.