Organised crime gang members sentenced for stolen vehicle export scam

Six men have been sentenced to a total of 20 years for their part in supplying and exporting stolen vehicles to Northern Cyprus. The City of London Police, who led the investigation, identified in excess of 120 stolen vehicles linked to the organised crime group, with losses to industry of around £5 million.

The men obtained high value cars in the UK through fraud offences such as identity fraud, fraudulent insurance claims and the sale of vehicles belonging to finance companies.

Couriers drove the vehicles through Europe to Northern Cyprus once the crime group had removed tracking devices, re-registered vehicles and used fake licence plates, to avoid detection. The group were sentenced to 20 years in total. Over a 14-month period, the City of London Police seized a number of cars that were destined to be sold by the gang. These included two Audi Q7s worth £80,000 each, two Range Rover Velars worth £60,000 each, a Range Rover Vogue worth £40,000, two BMW 5 series worth £40,000 each and a Mercedes AMG worth £40,000.

In total, the police operation disrupted sales, and seized assets from the group, in the region of £800,000. Detective Constable Barry Butler, from the City of London Police, said: “Serious and organised crime is a huge risk to national and, in this case, international security. By disrupting not only the gangs involved, but seizing their criminal assets and frustrating their funding, we have successfully removed an international illicit criminal market that, in all likelihood, was utilised by dangerous criminal groups in the UK.

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“This operation, and the subsequent court results, would not have been possible without the hard work of the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence gathering key evidence and the National Crime Agency, who assisted us greatly in all aspects of the investigation.”

National Vehicle Crime Intelligence, Head of Unit, Brett Mallon, said, “I’d like to thank everyone in NaVCIS who supported the investigation. The court result is a great example of our commitment to combating serious and organised crime.

“We don’t believe it’s fair that criminals think they can get away with obtaining millions of pounds worth of vehicles through fraudulent means. That’s why we’re proud to have worked with City of London Police to dismantle this group, severing its links to other organised crime gangs and preventing further serious offences.”

Authored by City of London Police