The Number of Suspected Stolen Vehicles Stopped at Romanian Customs Increased by 40% Y/Y

The number of suspected stolen vehicles stopped at customs in the first seven months increased by 40% compared to last year.

According to the official data of the Border Police, the number of vehicles suspected of being stolen and stopped at customs in the first seven months of this year increased by 40% compared to the same period last year. Most of the vehicles suspected to have been stolen were discovered on the country’s western border. In most cases, those behind the wheel either declared themselves “buyers in good faith” or were being paid to drive the car, not knowing that it was stolen.

In the first seven months of 2024, following the missions carried out at the border crossing points and in the area of ​​competence, the border police discovered 188 vehicles under the attention of the authorities, being reported as suspected of being stolen (149 cars, 11 trucks, 20 minibuses, five trailers and three motorcycles), up by approximately 39.3% compared to the same period of the previous year (135 vehicles).

Border Police Press Release

Most vehicles suspected of being stolen were discovered at the border with Hungary, at the border crossing points Petea, from Satu Mare county, and Borş, from Bihor county.

Significant cases were also registered at the border with Bulgaria, in P.T.F. Giurgiu and P.T.F. Calafat, and on the border with the Republic of Moldova, where P.T.F. Albita (Vaslui county) has the most such cases.

An analysis by the Border Police shows that the main countries from which vehicles came under the authorities’ attention are Romania, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. Most of the detected cars are luxury cars and from the class of means.

Bulgarian, Croatian, Greek, Moldovan, Serbian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, Hungarian, and Ukrainian citizens tried to introduce these vehicles into the country.

In most cases, those who were behind the wheel of the respective cars declared, during the checks, that they did not know that the cars were under the authorities’ attention, being only “buyers in good faith.” At the same time, some of them reasoned that they received a sum of money to transport the car to Romania and did not know that it was under the authorities’ attention.

According to the legislation, criminal files were drawn up on behalf of those involved in all cases, and the vehicles in question were made unavailable at the headquarters of the Border Police’s territorial structures until the cases were completed.