Alex Trelinski
AUTHORITIES have arrested a Costa Blanca gang that stole and cloned details of European cars and changed them to look like Spanish vehicles for sale on second-hand websites.
VIN numbers, license plates, and documents were forged in addition to respraying the cars to make them appear as genuine models.
Four Bulgarians have been arrested, including a father and son, with a fifth person being investigated by the Guardia Civil.
13 cars with modified chassis numbers have been recovered with the Guardia believing another four vehicles have yet to be found.
The cars were valued at over €270,000 on the second-hand market.
Europol assisted the operation to bring down the gang which started over a year ago.
Cars were taken from places as far afield as Denmark, Sweden, and Poland or a note made of their details.
Similar vehicles were also stolen in Spain so that they could be cloned to appear to be a European import.
Vehicles were left to ‘cool down’ in public places for a few days to ensure that they did not have GPS trackers in them.
The gang carried out changes in workshops on industrial estates in Benissa and Javea.
The Guardia raided the premises and also homes belonging to the crew in Gandia, Teulada, Denia, and Javea.
The criminals had an array of sophisticated equipment to clone keys as well as frequency inhibitors and sensors.
Specialist die-cutting gear made new licence plates and altered chassis numbers.
READ MORE:
- Gone in 60 seconds: Spain’s National Police bust Bulgarian gang that could steal cars in less than a minute
- Eastern European gang members are arrested for ‘stealing high-end cars across Spain’s Costa Blanca’ in a bid resell them…
- Luxury cars stolen from Spain’s Benidorm area to be resold with false plates and changed VIN numbers
