In course of several years over ten members of a criminal ring stole the most expensive foreign-produced cars, restamped the numbers of joints and units, and then forged documents in the name of new owners. “In the past 24 hours eight cars have been confiscated of the nearly 200 that were stolen,” said Major General Volodymyr Havryliuk, the police head of Khmelnytska oblast.
The scope of criminal activity is stunning. For example, a car was stolen in city of Khmelnytsk, documents were forged in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, and the car was eventually sold in Vinnytsia, while a “twin” car (with the same documents) was in use in a different region. Investigators are now trying to understand how the culprits got access to specialized databases, and one of the versions involves personnel of various law-enforcement agencies as accomplices to the crime.
Lieutenant Colonel Serhii Shutiak, the first deputy head and the head of criminal police in the oblast, draws attention to the fact that it took experts over a day to locate exactly where the numbers were restamped. Clearly, this skill is worthy of a better application. Similarly, the forged documents raised almost no suspicions: without exception, they contained the last names of car owners, while powers of attorney to drive cars were made on authentic forms.
At different points in time, the temptation to purchase a car at half or one-third of its saloon price got the better of very high-ranking people: MPs, government officials, law-enforcement officers, etc. A $50,000-worth BMW X5 went for $15,000-20,000, a Mercedes R325, for $25,000, etc. The police have just confiscated a Porsche and so on.
Not all those who fell victim to the temptation have given up hope. Some are demanding that the police administration close the case, while others hid their cars far from human eyes on the hope that “this will pass by somehow.” Police officials urgently recommend that the owners of these “second-hand” cars turn to the police in due time so that they would be considered victims, rather than accomplices. “We are undertaking all the necessary investigative actions to prove these people’s involvement in the crimes,” said Havryliuk with assurance. For over a year his subordinates observed and documented the activity of the criminal ring.
According to police reports, in 2005-2008, 590 vehicles were stolen, including 168 expensive foreign-produced cars. In the first nine months of 2008, 98 such cars were stoled and in 74 cases the thieves have been identified.
