A MASSIVE international scam has been uncovered whereby foreign criminals are being flown into Ireland to smuggle high-powered stolen cars out of the country.
The discovery was made after gardai seized a top-of-the-range Audi A6 worth almost €50,000 at Rosslare Europort last weekend.
The Polish driver of the vehicle was caught when gardai working at the County Wexford port noticed an “old false number plate”, which did not match the high spec nature of the car,
The suspect has since been arrested and gardai believe he had been paid €500 “expenses” to fly here and then pick up the stolen car before immediately leaving the country with it.
The seized Audi had been fitted with cloned licence plates from a hire car, although the vehicle’s insurance and tax discs were legitimate.
The car had been stolen in Trim, Co. Meath, last November. According to authorities, the vehicle is one of a long list just waiting to be smuggled out of the country to the continent.
A source told the Irish Independent: “The plan was for him to then drive the car out of the country in an Irish Ferries boat to Cherbourg in France were the vehicle would get picked up by an organised crime gang based in continental Europe.
“The reality is that it is far too easy for stolen cars like this to be taken out of the country.
Gardai believe the seizure of the car that occurred last weekend may only be the tip of the iceberg in relation to how many cars have been smuggled out of the country and that there are specific locations where dozens of high-end cars are being stored for this purpose.”
