Detectives tracing
a Lexus stolen from London have ended up tracking it to Uganda - where it was
found alongside a fleet of British cars worth more than £1 million.The £50,000
SUV was fitted with a state-of-the-art tracking device, which activated as soon
as it was taken from outside a property in west London.As a result the National
Crime Agency was able to use a smartphone app to trace the journey of the
stolen RX450h 6,000 miles to the Uganda capital Kampala, where they were stunned
to find it alongside 28 other luxury cars which had been stolen from the UK by
the car-smuggling gang.
Luxury
right-hand-drive cars are in great demand in land-locked Uganda, where locals
still drive on the left as part of the British colonial legacy but import
companies struggle to transport new vehicles.The stolen Lexus was tracked to Le
Havre, in France, where it was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea and through
the Suez Canal down to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman. It was then shipped
to Mombasa in Kenya before being transported by road to Kampala - where locals
drive on the right-hand side - in a steel container.
The stolen Lexus
which led to the discovery of the smuggling ring was taken in April, and later
tracked to Le Havre, in France, where it was shipped across the Mediterranean
Sea and through the Suez Canal down to the Middle Eastern nation of Oman.The
tracking app even allowed police to identify how corrupt officials in both
Kenya and Uganda, infiltrate the criminal syndicate and understand its
operation.
Organised criminal
gangs are increasingly targeting high-value cars – largely 4x4s – with keyless
security systems, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders warned last
year.Thieves are able to bypass security by using equipment intended only for
mechanics – while manufacturers try to stay one step ahead by updating
software. National Crime Agency that tracked the vehicle and uncovered the
smuggling gang, said: 'This investigation is an excellent example of the close
co-operation between the UK National Crime Agency, National Vehicle Crime
Intelligence Service, Interpol and [anti-fraud investigators] APU to tackle the
increasing threat from organised vehicle crime.
Although a few
arrests have been made, it is clear that the smuggling of cars from Britain to
Uganda represents a huge criminal conspiracy.
The reason the cars were taken to Uganda, it seems, is that there is
demand for right-hand-drive cars in the African country where, as a result of
itsits British colonial legacy, people drive on the left-hand side. It is believed that all of the stolen
vehicles were equipped with keyless ignition, which the criminals managed to
breach by using reprogrammed keys to start the cars up and drive off.Car
manufacturers, insurance companies and police forces are facing an uphill
battle against the sophisticated method.Since the start of the year, more than
40,000 cars have been stolen in London with a quarter of these using keyless
technology.
In upmarket
Kensington and Chelsea, officers are now stopping high-end vehicles being
driven in the area after midnight, when many vehicle thefts take place.The
fleet of stolen cars, mainly made up of Range Rovers, BMWs, Audis and other
prestige makes, is now in the process of being shipped back to the UK.
Sophisticated
technology and crime network !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
6th Oct 2015.
