Suspected container near highway hid stolen cars to be shipped to Africa: network of car thieves busted (Brussels)

Eleven suspects have been arrested for car thefts in our country and the Netherlands. The case started when a suspicious shipping container was spotted near a highway in West Flanders. “The stolen cars were always stacked in shipping containers with the intention of shipping them to Africa.”

On August 25 last year, the Arro Ypres police zone received a report about suspicious activities surrounding a sea container that was located in an unusual and remote location near the A19 motorway in the West Flemish village of Geluwe. During a check by the police zone, three Toyotas were discovered in the container, which had been stolen the same night in Antwerp and the Netherlands. They were stacked and old mattresses were intended to prevent damage to the bodywork.

Containers in Antwerp

The West Flanders public prosecutor’s office assigned the further investigation to the Federal Judicial Police (FGP) West Flanders, which after extensive investigation led to a number of Dutch and Belgian suspects. Research showed that this organization was responsible for even more thefts, mainly of Toyota’s RAV4 in Flanders and the Netherlands. Six more vehicles were recovered in containers by local police in the province of Antwerp. “The stolen cars were always stacked in sea containers with the intention of shipping them to Africa,” according to the West Flanders public prosecutor’s office.

Arrests

Under the leadership of the investigating judge in Kortrijk, the FGP West Flanders, together with FGP East Flanders and Antwerp, carried out a campaign on April 29 carried out eight house searches in Wervik, Antwerp, Herentals, Merksplas, Ghent, Lievegem and Vorst. Seven suspects were arrested and interrogated. Five of they were arrested by the investigating judge. A vehicle used in the thefts and cash were seized during the intervention. Found devices and documents will be further investigated. (Read more below the photo)

On May 7, 2024, at the request of the Kortrijk investigating judge, there was an intervention in The Hague in the Netherlands in the presence of West Flemish investigators. Four arrests were made during house searches. Electronic equipment that facilitates car theft was found. There will be another request for the suspects to be extradited to our country.

Observant passer-by

“This investigation started with a report to the local police by an observant passer-by,” says the West Flanders public prosecutor’s office. “The police call on people to always report suspicious actions; such information can lead to the start of a new investigation or a breakthrough in an ongoing investigation.”