Europol and Spanish Guardia Civil thwart crime group that stole nearly half a million euro worth of luxury cars

Europol has supported the Spanish Guardia Civil to dismantle an organised crime group involved in the stealing of luxury vehicles worth EUR 430 000. Six Lithuanian nationals aged between 28 to 64 years old were arrested in connection to this case. So far, the Spanish officers have recovered 14 stolen vehicles.

Several house searches were carried out in Alicante (Spain). Chemical substances and professional tools used to manipulate license plates, chassis numbers and false documents, as well as radio-frequency devices were discovered and seized.

The crime group had been stealing original luxury vehicle documents and vehicles of the same brand as the ones mentioned in the documents. Afterwards, they falsified the vehicles’ identification numbers, produced fake license plates containing valid information and drove the vehicles safely to Lithuania.

Europol’s analysis linked the criminals to Germany, Lithuania and Poland, where they had delivered stolen vehicles for sale. The investigation is ongoing.

For more information, please contact the Spanish Guardia Civil (Alicante province).

www.guardiacivil.es/es/prensa/videos_descarga_medios/2016/index.html