24 luxury cars have been rescued from a Ugandan crime ring after they were targeted by car key burglaries. Vehicles taken included Range Rovers, Audi Q7s and BMW X5s which all mounted up to a total of £1 million's worth of motor. The rescue was mainly thanks to APU Ltd. after they were able to track a missing Lexus fitted with tracking equipment which had been taken to Le Havre, France before making its way to Uganda via Oman and Kenya.
12 car insurers were affected by these crimes, including Admiral, Aviva and Zenith, who I'm sure will be very grateful for this discovery. It wasn't only APU that assisted to get the cars back though as Interpol, the National Crime Agency and the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service were also drafted in to help prosecute the crime ring. The cars returned to the UK on March the 19th, 11 months after the Lexus had been reported stolen.
Thanks to their success the owners will get their beloved cars back as well as peace of mind and APU have been approached by Interpol discuss further interventions in Europe and Africa. It is estimated £1.3 billion motor fraud insurance problem according to the authorities, so it seems natural that APU services will be sought after to help decrease these figures.
Neil Thomas, Director of Investigative Services at APU Ltd, said: “This case is a feather in the cap for APU and its forensic capabilities, but it’s also very pleasing that all parties involved were able to achieve some tangible success despite being led thousands of miles across the world in what was considered an impossible task by the Police. One of the insurers involved had simply given up.
“This is the first time such an operation has been run involving this level of International and cross agency co-operation and it is a real example of how private industry, leading edge technology and expertise can assist law enforcement. It sets the template for future operations targeting organised criminals intent on stealing mobile assets.”
