KREMLIN'S CARS
Putin’s cronies cruising around in Range Rovers & £300k Rolls-Royces stolen from Britain as criminal gangs ship to order
Criminal gangs will pick weak targets to steal cars from
VLADIMIR Putin's cronies are being provided with swanky Range Rovers and luxurious £300,000 Rolls-Royces by UK criminal gangs.
The groups steal the vehicles from Britain and send them over to Russia - where the dictator's right hand men can enjoy them.
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Acting on a tip, police made a shocking discovery in Essex when they emptied out a red shipping container.
At first they only found bicycles but after removing the rest of the clutter they stumbled upon three stolen Range Rovers, wrapped up in mattresses and rugs, the Telegraph reported.
And this was only the beginning, as since the discovery in June 2022, more have followed.
Bentley, Audi and Toyota cars worth £250,000 were found squashed into a container together and a £300,000 Rolls-Royce Dawn was nestled among the remains of 13 other chopped up cars.
Last year, Essex Police’s stolen vehicle intelligence unit intercepted more than 60 similar containers before they were exported.
These carried 240 cars worth around £13m.
The vehicles are almost always disguised under false papers and usually bound for destinations in the Middle East, Africa or Asia.
Criminal gangs are able to make a killing from the luxury cars and car parts purchased.
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Part of the reason for the recent increase in the stolen cars is thought to be due to the war raging in Ukraine.
The conflict has meant strict sanctions have been imposed on Russia by the West - leading to Putin’s cronies being deprived of Western luxuries - like luxury cars.
The sanctions are forcing them to pay more for both their motors and the parts to maintain them, which are now complicated to get hold of.
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One way they are avoiding these sanctions is by shipping vehicles to neighbouring ex-Soviet countries and then sending them on to Russia, according to reports.
Mike Briggs, the UK president of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI), said the sanctions are driving the need for cars and car parts in Russia "very hard".
He added that "desperation" is part of the reason more vehicles are going out via the Middle East.
“It’s a real problem for them at the moment – because anything you see on Russian roads will eventually need spare parts," he said.
“The black market there has always been rife, but now it is getting bigger because of the sanctions, because people still want their luxury cars."
It comes as Putin reportedly gifted Kim Jong-un a £350,000 limousine as a thank-you for North Korean weapons.
The move is thought to be the latest sign of a growing bond between the two powerful despots.
HOW GANGS STEAL CARS
Gangs are highly organised and will receive an order for a certain model of car or parts from an oversees buyer, according to the Telegraph.
They will then go hunting for the requested motor in big cities such as London or Manchester and look for a weak target to steal from.
Families and wealthy foreign motorists are often selected as easy prey.
They break into the car and strip it of any tracking devices they find.
Then they park it somewhere to wait and see whether anyone comes looking for it.
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If no one comes, the gangs take parts from the motor or prepare it for export via a container that is often loaded with other metal goods to disguise the real cargo and confuse X-ray scanners.
It is then shipped to locations such as Dubai or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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