The Civil Guard has recovered 40 vehicles stolen from various European Union countries, which were later brought to Spain, registered, and sold on the second-hand market. So far, eight people have been arrested for offences including falsification of public documents, receiving stolen goods, and fraud.
Thanks to a documentary analysis carried out by the Central Traffic Investigation Group of the Civil Guard, based on information received from various provincial traffic headquarters and ITV stations, investigators were able to uncover the fraudulent registration of vehicles that had been reported stolen.
This criminal network stole vehicles across multiple EU countries. Once in Spain, the criminals altered the identifying elements of the cars before registering and selling them.
The group also acquired vehicles through rental agreements in different countries. To do this, they exploited individuals in financial difficulty who, in exchange for payment, provided their personal documentation. The criminals then transported the vehicles to Spain, where they were registered using falsified documents, avoiding payment of the agreed rental instalments.
Once registered in Spain, the criminals falsely reported the vehicles as stolen, informing the lessees in order to evade further payments. The vehicles were then legalised in Spain through the ITV, where they obtained a technical inspection card. They were subsequently registered at various provincial headquarters, allowing them to receive a new national registration.
This process made it difficult to trace the vehicles, as they effectively acquired a new identity, enabling stolen cars to enter the second-hand market. During the registration process at various traffic headquarters, falsified purchase and sale contracts were submitted, allowing the criminals to bypass established controls.
The operation, known as “Sescar”, was conducted by the General Subdirectorate of Information and Communications Systems for Security of the State Secretariat for Security, in coordination with the Traffic Group. It began in October 2024 following an in-depth review of multiple registration files submitted to different provincial traffic headquarters and ITV stations across Spain.
Source: Guardia Civil
