Luxury car theft gang clamped

By Tom Cain GUARDIA Civil officers have broken up an 18 member gang that specialised in stealing luxury cars then selling them on in Spain and other countries.

Investigating officers said that the gang used a fake computer programme to trick the owners of the cars into believing that the purchase price of the vehicle had been paid into their bank accounts.

This allowed the gang to obtain the keys and documentation before they disappeared off of the scene.

Of the 18 detainees, 15 are Spanish nationals, one Romanian, one Moroccan and one Syrian.

The arrests were made in Alicante province, Murcia and Madrid.

Officers said that the gang used three workshops in Murcia and Madrid where they changed the vehicles chassis numbers and number plates and produced false documentation.

Once this had been done the stolen cars were taken to countries such as France, Portugal and Paraguay where they were sold on.

During the operation officers searched addresses in Muchamiel in Alicante, Bullas and Lorca in Murcia and Lorqui in Madrid.

It is believed that over the past year the gang stole upwards of 200 cars none of which have been recovered.

During the police operation 24 stolen cars were found along with the equipment used to alter chassis numbers, make number plates and produce false documents and over €100,000 in cash.

Of the 18 detainees, four have been remanded in prison and the rest released on bail.