By Johanna Gardener •
Published: 20 Oct 2024 • 23:14
• 1 minute read
In a major international operation, the Guardia Civil has successfully recovered 98 stolen luxury vehicles, striking a significant blow against organized crime.
The Guardia Civil has managed to dismantle a substantial criminal network, recuperating around 98 high-end vehicles originating from European countries and overseas. 66 members of the group were also arrested and charged for accounts of vehicle theft and document fraud. The stolen vehicles were all said to be worth over €6 million and had been illegally sourced from European Union countries including Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, as well as from outside of the EU (UK and the UAE).
98 stolen cars were sent to Spain after being legalized with false documents
Investigation of the criminal network had originally started when the Central Traffic Investigation and Analysis Group of the Guardia Civil discerned some anomalies during checks and use of fraudulent documents from where the cars had been sourced to legalise the stolen vehicles. European police units and the Guardia Civil collaborated to make sense of the case and found that the cars were being sent to Spain following false legalisation. Once in Spain, false identification was used to procure fake ITV (MOT or technical vehicle inspection), before being registered with traffic offices and sold via national and international selling platforms. Not only had false identification been used but vehicle registrations had also been altered, most significantly those from outside of the EU which were changed to European. The Guardia Civil’s Central Traffic Investigation Group, with back up from the Technical Judicial Police Unit and European border agency FRONTEX was behind the operation named SUSPICIO.
Stolen vehicles recuperated and criminal band dismantled thanks to international collaboration
Thanks to international collaboration, nearly 100 stolen cars were recovered, and more significantly, a prolific criminal network was dismantled. In the face of ongoing threats to safety and civil peace, this operation serves as a powerful example of how cross-border cooperation can lead to the successful resolution of complex criminal cases.
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Written by
Johanna Gardener
Originally from Manchester, UK and with a degree in English with Modern Foreign Languages, she has been a permanent resident in Spain for the past 12 years. Many of these years, she has spent working as a secondary school teacher, as well as in journalism, editing and marketing. She currently lives in the historic centre of Malaga, where she enjoys writing, walking and animals.
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