2004 – Organised Crime in Europe

Extracts from a publication ‘Concepts, Patterns and Control Policies in the
European Union and Beyond’ – Edited by Cyrille Fijnaut, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, Tilburg University, The Netherlands & Letizia Paoli, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Criminology,
Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Freiburg, Germany.

A structured summary of vehicle crime–related content, with country breakdowns, theft/disposal methodologies, statistics, and cited sources

Contents


United Kingdom Organised Crime Policy Context

Source: “The Making of UK Organised Crime Control Policies”, pp. 825–849

Extract 1 – Vehicle crime and cross-border policing:

“The Association of Chief Police Officers, stimulated by the Home Office, commissioned a report (ACPO, 1996) which noted that 43 per cent of central squad work (drugs, fraud, vehicle, etc.) was across the borders between forces … 36.5 per cent and 30 per cent of fraud work was undertaken internationally and nationally respectively.”

Interpretation:
Vehicle crime investigations represented a significant share of cross-border UK policing, confirming early recognition of its transnational dimension.

Cited source:
ACPO (1996) International, National and Inter-Force Crime — Association of Chief Police Officers, London

Extract 2 – Modern policy evolution:

“Despite exhortations to shift practices towards crime reduction in the United Kingdom, it is not always obvious how much policing has changed … little general police support for radical shifts … the iconography of fear of crime is more difficult to develop for ‘white-collar’ than for ‘organised’ crime.”

Context:
While not specifically about cars, this situates vehicle theft within broader “organised” crime discourse that influenced post-1990s UK policing priorities.

CitationDescriptionURL
ACPO (1996)International, National and Inter-Force Crime — vehicle, fraud, drugs analysishttps://www.acpo.police.uk/ (archive only)
Ministerio del Interior (2001)Spanish police report detailing UK–Spain vehicle theft ringhttps://www.interior.gob.es
Zaitch (2002)Study defining “bi-directionality” (drug–vehicle trade between UK and Spain)https://www.wodc.nl
Fijnaut et al. (1998)Early study on European car theft networks (Netherlands, Germany, Poland, UK links)

Poland

Pages: 483–485
Section: 4.3 Trafficking in Stolen Cars

Statistics

  • Car thefts rose sharply after 1989 with border liberalisation.
    • 1988: 4,173 thefts
    • 1991: 9,356
    • 1992: 15,308
    • 1994: 42,021
    • 1995: 50,684
    • 1997: 53,319
    • 1999: 71,543
    • 2000: 68,062
    • 2002: 53,673
  • Theft identified in 60% of Polish cities, notably Warsaw, Gdańsk, Łódź, Wrocław, Kraków, and Poznań.

Methods

  • Cross-border smuggling routes from Germany/Czech Republic → Belarus/Ukraine/Lithuania.
  • Sophisticated division of labour:
    • Thieves, transporters, fencers, and document forgers.
  • Forgery of foreign registration papers (Germany, Belgium, US, Canada).
  • Creation of fictitious sales contracts for customs/legalisation.
  • VIN manipulation to evade police checks.
  • Rental fraud (vehicles hired with forged ID, resold, then declared stolen).
  • Alarm disconnection and window forcing techniques.
  • Growth in insurance fraud — staged thefts by owners claiming compensation after selling vehicles abroad.

Disposal

  • Cars smuggled east via “legal import” loopholes.
  • Sold to “good faith” buyers once registered with forged documents.
  • Police noted high professionalism and cross-border coordination.

Sources referenced

  • Poland’s Central Customs Office data.
  • Internal police investigations and EU police cooperation.

The Netherlands

Pages: 318–319
Section: 4.4 Trafficking in Stolen Vehicles

Statistics

  • Estimated 30,000–35,000 cars/lorries stolen per year.
  • 5,000–7,000 cars and ≈200 lorries permanently disappear (Fijnaut et al., 1998).

Methods

  • Dutch groups: small (4–5 members), local/regional operations, stealing 10–15 vehicles per year.
  • Tasks divided among:
    • Thieves, drivers, VIN changers, paper forgers.
  • Some members own garages or scrapyards, providing legitimate covers.
  • Eastern European groups (Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia) operate larger networks (5–8 core members).

Disposal

  • Integration of stolen vehicles into legitimate markets through car businesses.
  • Legal car dealers frequently implicated (Moerland & Boerman, 1999:155).
  • Study commissioned by WODC (Dutch Ministry of Justice) to analyse the organised crime link (published post-2004).

Sources referenced

  • Fijnaut et al. (1998); Moerland & Boerman (1999).

Spain

Pages: 405–406
Section: 5.3 Vehicle Theft and Smuggling

Statistics

  • Civil Guard (2001):
    • 4,644 arrests for vehicle theft.
    • 1,159 arrests for document forgery.

Notable Police Operations

  • Operation Romano (Madrid, May 2001):
    20 arrested (16 Bulgarians, 2 Albanians, 2 Kosovars) for theft, smuggling, and forgery.
  • Operation Tineo-Pitufo (Malaga, May 2001):
    4 arrested for stealing luxury cars in Italy and selling them in Spain.
  • Operation Iceman (Valencia, Nov 2001):
    4 arrested; 10 cars recovered ready for export.

Methods

  • Cross-border trade between UK and Spain:
    British offenders stole cars in the UK, forged documentation, imported them into Spain, sold them on the Costa del Sol, and exported hashish back to the UK (“bi-directional smuggling”).

Disposal

  • Cars resold locally or prepared for re-export.
  • High rate of foreign-national involvement.

Sources referenced

  • Ministerio del Interior (Spain, 2001)
  • Zaitch (2002) — bi-directionality concept (vehicle/drug reciprocal trade).

Spain – United Kingdom Connection

Source: Chapter 5.3 “Vehicle Theft and Smuggling”, pp. 405–406

“For instance, the National Police Corps arrested four British nationals living in Benalmádena (Costa del Sol) engaged in vehicle theft and smuggling and drug trafficking. That is, operating in what Zaitch (2002) calls bi-directionality. They stole cars from the United Kingdom, forged documentation, imported them into Spain and sold them across the Costa del Sol. At the same time, they exported hashish from the Costa del Sol into the United Kingdom.”

✦ Summary:

  • Nature: Transnational network of British nationals.
  • Crimes: Car theft, document forgery, smuggling, and drug trafficking.
  • Method: “Bi-directionality” — cars stolen in UK → sold in Spain → drugs exported back to UK.
  • Operation base: Costa del Sol (Benalmádena, Malaga, Valencia).
  • Spanish arrests: 4,644 for vehicle theft + 1,159 for document forgery (2001).

Primary source referenced:
Ministerio del Interior (Spain, 2001) https://www.interior.gob.es

Albania

Pages: 552–553
Section: 5.4 Trade in Stolen Cars

Statistics

  • 4,400 cars checked (1999–2002): 350 confirmed stolen, mostly from Italy (MPO, 2002:7).
  • 464 (1998) and 467 (1999) thefts officially recorded.
  • 1 in 6 citizens reported victimisation within 5 years (ICVS 2000; Hysi, 2001:16).

Methods

  • Early thefts: violent, with false keys or weapons.
  • Newer method: collusive thefts — staged thefts for insurance fraud; owner and buyer cooperate.
  • Forgery and corruption: customs and police enable registration of stolen vehicles using counterfeit papers.
  • Cars imported without VIN or registration verification.

Disposal

  • Sold locally or exported to Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo.
  • Criminals demand “ransom” payments to return stolen cars.
  • Many vehicles disassembled and sold for parts.

Sources referenced

  • Qystri (1999:24), Hysi (2000c:12; 2001:16), Ministry of Justice (2003:22), MPO (2002:7).

Czech Republic

Pages: 458–459
Section: 6.8 Motor Vehicle Thefts and Smuggling

Statistics

  • ≈80 vehicles stolen per day (≈29,000 annually).
  • Police recovery rate: 15%.

Methods

  • Professional, organised thefts by Czech and foreign nationals.
  • Legalisation via forged import papers, purchase contracts, foreign registration documents, and customs declarations.
  • Preference for cars with original keys and authentic documents.

Disposal

  • Cars registered domestically or exported abroad.
  • Commonly targeted makes: Škoda, Chrysler, Jeep, Peugeot, BMW, Citroën, Mercedes.
  • Increase in insurance fraud alongside falling theft totals.

Sources referenced

  • Nožina (2003:351–352)
  • Czech Ministry of Interior data (2001a/b, 2002).

Summary of Common Trends

PatternDetails
Professional networksCar theft is often structured with distinct roles (thieves, forgers, transporters, sellers).
Forgery and legalisationCross-border paperwork fraud is central: fake sales, VIN changes, foreign registration.
Insurance fraudCommon in Poland and Albania — false theft claims after voluntary sales.
International involvementCross-border collaboration between nationals from Eastern Europe, Balkans, and Western Europe.
Disposal methodsLocal resale, re-registration, dismantling for parts, or export to neighbouring countries.
State weaknessesCorruption and porous customs in Albania and Poland; limited law enforcement success in Czech Republic.

Referenced External Sources (from cited text)

(URLs are provided where available or approximated from cited sources)

CitationDescriptionURL
Hysi (2001, 2000c)Albania car theft and victimisation studiesunavailable
Qystri (1999)Report on Albanian organised crime(Referenced in Organised Crime in Albania, UNDP)
MPO (2002)Albanian police & Interpol stolen vehicle report(Likely: http://www.asp.gov.al)
Ministerio del Interior (Spain, 2001)Police operations reporthttps://www.interior.gob.es
Fijnaut et al. (1998); Moerland & Boerman (1999)Dutch organised crime and vehicle theft studyhttps://www.wodc.nl
Nožina (2003)Czech organised crime researchhttps://www.mvcr.cz/mvcren/