Mexican Police Break Up Global Auto Theft Ring
MEXICO CITY — Police have uncovered an international auto theft ring that stole cars in Mexico and sold them in France, Mexican prosecutors and Interpol said Saturday.
The operation was headed by French suspects who got vehicles from armed carjackers in Mexico and Florida. Authorities believe the case may signal that criminal organizations are diversifying their sources of income by mixing car theft with drug trafficking.
The 63 vehicles found in France--all Mexican, and mainly Chrysler Voyager minivans--are part of 116 suspected robbery-for-export cases, said Juan Ponce Edmundson, director of Interpol-Mexico.
The ring, which began in 1997, had also apparently set up a car agency in Florida to export cars stolen there to France.
“With an arrogance that comes from a feeling of impunity, they were advertising [stolen cars] in local publications [in France] as ‘cars imported directly from the United States,’ ” Ponce Edmundson said.
Three French suspects were arrested along with two Cambodians. Seven Mexicans--including two employees of Mexican license bureaus--are being sought.
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