250 stolen cars have been intercepted at the Algeciras Port this year

ALGECIRAS Port Police have intercepted a van with a French license plate that was filled to the brim with parts from six different cars. The driver, a young Moroccan man has been arrested.

So far this year, 250 stolen cars have been intercepted at the Algeciras Port, most of them are assumed to have been taken from various European countries, mainly France, Belgium, and Italy.

Their most typical method of car theft is to steal the car from a European country and then put it on a boat to Africa as quickly as possible, but police say there are variations. 

Some take their car to an African country, sell it and then return to report it as stolen and collect the insurance money. Another possibility, as would seem to be the case in the latest incident, is to take the cars apart and then hire a driver to transport the pieces as car-spares.

The presence of the van in Algeciras Port on the evening of Tuesday (December 8) awoke the suspicions of police officers. After identifying the driver, they investigated the inside of the van, where they found parts of six different cars. The work of identifying the cars took up a good part of Wednesday for the officers. They eventually notified the owners, who reported it to their respective insurance companies.

The driver of the van has been accused of receiving and trafficking stolen goods.