Drug dealing gangs are using Zipcar to steer clear of police

ORGANISED criminal gangs are using car sharing scheme Zipcar to deal illegal drugs and avoid detection.

In a sign that criminals are quick to adopt new technologies, drug dealers in London and elsewhere are making use of car sharing schemes, where a car can be borrowed from a street for a few hours, to deliver cannabis, crystal meth and cocaine.

The Sunday Telegraph has observed three examples of Zipcars being used by drug dealers in Deptford, south-east London, and spoken to car sharing customers across the capital who have found drug paraphernalia in vehicles.

Zipcar, which operates in London, Cambridge, Oxford and Bristol, said it was “very much aware” of the “abuse” of its vehicles by criminals and was working with the Metropolitan Police to address the problem.

A Zipcar spokesman said: “We have a dedicated risk team in place, whose role it is to assess membership suitability and to maintain an ongoing, collaborative relationship with the police, to ensure any issues are reported quickly and dealt with effectively.

“We ask that all members report any issues they find with a car they have booked with us immediately, and we will always note the identities of previous members with access to the car in question. If there is evidence of repeated breaches of our rules by a member, we look at terminating their contract with us, and if there is evidence of wrongdoing, data protection laws permitting, we share details of offending members with the police.”