How criminal gangs are stealing prestige vehicles from wealthy homes and exporting them within AN HOUR
Gangs are stealing prestige vehicles from the driveways of wealthy homes and exporting them from Britain in less than 60 minutes.
The organised criminals are targeting sought-after BMWs, Range Rovers, Audis and even trucks and diggers.
The modern vehicles are often stolen using high-tech hacking equipment that means the thieves do not even need a key
They are driven into shipping containers and exported to clients in Africa, Cyprus, the U.S. and even Malaysia and Burma.
Continue...
Some of the car theft rings are so sophisticated they can steal a car and get it out of the country in less than an hour.
Last month the authorities recovered 44 vehicles worth more than £1.2million in a nationwide crackdown.
The operation, led by the National Crime Agency and Border Force, targeted containers at ports across the country.
Eighteen of the vehicles were stolen from addresses in London, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Germany and the Netherlands.
Some were concealed inside containers by loads of clothes and other consumer goods, or hidden behind large sheets of cardboard.
Many of the other stolen cars belonged to finance companies who had been duped into loaning them to bogus customers or to hire companies.
Police also discovered a container filled with valuable parts from at least 29 stolen BMWs that had been broken down.
Prestigious vehicles are highly prized by criminals themselves and also retain their value for resale wherever they are transported in the world.
Tom Dowdall, of the NCA’s Border Policing Command, said some criminal networks have begun paying for consignments of drugs with cars.
He said: ‘Exporting and selling stolen vehicles on the black market is a lucrative business for organised crime groups as they also avoid tax or import duties.
‘This type of crime not only affects car owners but also manufacturers, insurance companies and vehicle-related businesses such as rental companies and garages.’
Last year 90,000 vehicles were stolen in Britain and the authorities believe and many of these will have been exported.
This type of crime not only affects car owners but also manufacturers, insurance companies and vehicle-related businesses
Tom Dowdall, National Crime Agency
Read more: http://www.dailymail.
Some of the car theft rings are so sophisticated they can steal a car and get it out of the country in less than an hour.
Last month the authorities recovered 44 vehicles worth more than £1.2million in a nationwide crackdown.
The operation, led by the National Crime Agency and Border Force, targeted containers at ports across the country.
Eighteen of the vehicles were stolen from addresses in London, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Germany and the Netherlands.
Some were concealed inside containers by loads of clothes and other consumer goods, or hidden behind large sheets of cardboard.
Many of the other stolen cars belonged to finance companies who had been duped into loaning them to bogus customers or to hire companies.
Police also discovered a container filled with valuable parts from at least 29 stolen BMWs that had been broken down.
Prestigious vehicles are highly prized by criminals themselves and also retain their value for resale wherever they are transported in the world.
Tom Dowdall, of the NCA’s Border Policing Command, said some criminal networks have begun paying for consignments of drugs with cars.
He said: ‘Exporting and selling stolen vehicles on the black market is a lucrative business for organised crime groups as they also avoid tax or import duties.
‘This type of crime not only affects car owners but also manufacturers, insurance companies and vehicle-related businesses such as rental companies and garages.’
Last year 90,000 vehicles were stolen in Britain and the authorities believe and many of these will have been exported.
This type of crime not only affects car owners but also manufacturers, insurance companies and vehicle-related businesses
Tom Dowdall, National Crime Agency
Many steal vehicles to order with four-wheeled vehicles among the most commonly stolen because they can be used in countries with poor roads.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.
Comments