Car theft on rise again as hi-tech criminals hit back

MANUFACTURERS and police thought they had put the brakes on car crime – but it’s back.

The number of cars being stolen has risen dramatically in Greater Manchester, bucking a trend which for the last decade had seen thefts plummet due to hi-tech security features.

Such was their confidence, some car firms had even gone as far as describing their vehicles as ‘thief-proof.’

Criminals are now hitting back with technology of their own.

Gangs swooping on high-end cars across Greater Manchester are now shipping them as far as the Middle East as part of a complex but lucrative conspiracy.

Police say they have already brought down or disrupted a number of prolific car thieves, but admit they have been taken aback by the huge spike in professional car thieves and the highlyorganised networks.

New figures released reveal car theft has risen by almost a third in Greater Manchester in the last three years.

According to the RAC, vehicle thefts jumped from 3,875 in 2013 to 4,999 in 2016 – a 29 per cent rise.

Our sister paper the M.E.N. has previously reported on how a buoyant market for second-hand BMWs, Audis and other German-made cars is fuelling demand, with some models stolen, broken into parts, then sold in online auctions around the world.

Criminals on the lower end of the scale are breaking into homes to steal keys or even fishing them through letter boxes in order to defeat the latest security features.

And in an even more sinister trend, they are increasingly deploying ‘scanner’ technology to mimic legitimate keys and remotely open and activate cars.

According to GMP insiders, officers are dealing with an estimated 20 to 30 incidents a day.

Commenting on the rise, Det Chief Insp Colin Larkin, of GMP’s Force Intelligence Bureau, said: “We have had vehicles stolen from Greater Manchester turning up in Spain, Greece, as far as Saudi Arabia.”

Organised crime gangs will use shipping containers to get popular models like BMWs, Audis, Mercedes and Volkswagens out of the country.