In the first four months of the year, border gurads discovered 80 means of transport under the attention of the authorities, reported as suspected stolen – 71 cars, 4 minibuses, 2 trucks, 2 motorcycles and 1 trailer – an increase of 33% compared to the same period last year (53 vehicles), write Agerpres.
According to a press release of the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF), most vehicles were discovered at the border with Hungary, at Nadlac II (Arad county) and Petea (Satu Mare county). Significant cases were also recorded at the border with Bulgaria, in Calafat and Giurgiu, as well as at the border with the Republic of Moldova, with most such cases being recorded in Albita (Vaslui county).
The persons involved were Romanian, Bulgarian, Iranian, Libyan, Latvian, Dutch, Moldovan, Serbian, Turkish and Ukrainian citizens.
In all cases, according to the law, criminal files were drawn up in the names of those involved and the vehicles in question were impounded at the offices of the territorial structures of the Border Police, until the case is concluded, IGPF said.
Following this year’s analysis, it was found that the main countries of origin of the vehicles in question which were detected at Romania’s borders were Germany, Italy, Romania, Belgium, Ukraine, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom, with most of the vehicles detected being in the luxury and medium-sized car categories.
In most of the cases, the drivers declared during the checks that they did not know that the cars were under the attention of the authorities as being stolen, as they were only „bona fide buyers”. However, some of them claimed that they had received a sum of money to transport the car to Romania and did not know that it was under the attention of the authorities.
In order to identify and seize the cars reported stolen abroad, under the direct supervision of the competent public prosecution units, the border police collaborated with similar structures in the EU Member States, carrying out an operational exchange of data and information through the Border Contact Points and Centres.
