/Reuters Agency
The police of Italy, Spain and Belgium have dismantled an Eastern European criminal network accused of stealing luxury cars, which were then smuggled from the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, to Dubai for resale, according to Italian and European Union authorities.
The gang identified the vehicles in tourist resorts such as Forte dei Marmi and Cortina in Italy, as well as in Marbella in Spain.
The cars were equipped with tracking devices, which allowed the thieves to act later, according to a statement released by the Italian police.
The cars – mainly Range Rover, Lexus and Toyota models – were then driven to Belgium, where the chassis numbers were altered and false or cloned license plates were fitted, before being shipped from the port area of Antwerp.
The officers seized four stolen vehicles, key cloning kits, signal jammers and other equipment used to open cars, deactivate their alarm and GPS systems, and dismantle the security transponders to prevent subsequent tracking.
Eurojust and Europol, the European Union’s judicial and police cooperation agencies, collaborated in the investigations into the theft of more than 100 high-end vehicles, with a total estimated value of at least 3 million euros, since the beginning of 2024.
The raid conducted by the authorities targeted 24 suspects, mostly from Moldova, but also from Russia, Romania and Ukraine; six of them were arrested and three placed under house arrest, according to the Carabinieri, who led the investigation.
