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Interpol Issues Warrant for Belgian-Moroccan Car Theft Kingpin
Wednesday 22 January 2020, by
At the request of the Belgian federal police services, Interpol has just issued an arrest warrant against a Belgian-Moroccan, the mastermind of an international car trafficking network in Europe. The modus operandi of this cross-border criminal network consists of stealing cars in several European countries to resell them in North Africa and Eastern Europe.
According to the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, the identity of the wanted Moroccan has not been revealed. All that has been made public is that he is wanted because he is the mastermind of a criminal network of car thefts across Europe. A repeat offender, he had already served prison sentences for car trafficking in Belgium.
The phenomenon of car trafficking is taking on alarming proportions and is a concern for the authorities. According to data made public by Interpol, about 20,000 cars are stolen each year in Europe. Currently, a cell has been set up to monitor stolen cars by cross-border networks, whose ramifications lead to gangs linked to terrorism.
Morocco has moreover been praised by Interpol, in the sense that the number of cars stolen in Europe and transiting through Moroccan territory has clearly decreased during the first six months of 2019.
According to the international criminal police organization, Morocco has always cooperated well with European security services in order to combat this phenomenon of car trafficking that could benefit terrorist groups in the Sahel and elsewhere.