Two held as racket in stolen cars is broken

A Massive cross-Border racket in which cars were stolen in the North and imported to the Republic as genuine family cars has …

A Massive cross-Border racket in which cars were stolen in the North and imported to the Republic as genuine family cars has been uncovered by the Garda and the RUC.

A man and a woman in their 20s from the Drogheda area have been questioned in connection with the racket, and more arrests are expected.

So far gardai have recovered 24 stolen cars.

Chief Supt Al McHugh described the operation as "a huge scam" which sent a strong warning to people about the need for caution when buying cars.

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"These were genuine people who bought their family cars and are now out of pocket to the tune of £8,000," he said.

The procedure, which gardai began investigating last October, involved the theft of family saloon-style cars in the North and their importation into the Republic. Most were sold in Dublin, Louth and Meath.

In the operation, known as "ringing", documentation and number plates from a crashed car are transferred to a stolen one of the same make and type.

The car is then imported into the Republic, effectively reintroducing the crashed car, and sold to unwitting buyers.

During a series of raids on a garage and a number of private houses, 24 cars were recovered by gardai.

The vehicles were Volkswagen Golfs, Toyota Corollas and Carinas, and other family saloons and hatchbacks. The RUC has also seized a number of cars as part of the investigation.

Last week a man and a woman were arrested at a premises in the Drogheda area and later released. A file on the matter is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Gardai expect to make further arrests in relation to the investigation.

Chief Supt McHugh said most of those who purchased the cars believed they were genuine and had paid the importation duty to the Revenue Commissioners.

"It has to be said that it was quite professionally organised in terms of the means used. I presume that the people who bought the cars got someone to look it over before they paid for it, but nothing untoward revealed itself," he said.