POLICE in Spain have arrested 19 people, with a further five still under investigation, for the alleged theft of 85 vehicles, Euroweekly reports.

The gang allegedly had the help of a local council member who helped them to obtain information about the stolen vehicles and clone licence plates of identical cars so they could be resold.

The 19 suspects were held for numerous crimes, including theft, forging documents, money laundering and belonging to a criminal organisation.

The detainees are reportedly of numerous nationalities, including Spanish, Greek, French, Romanian, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian and Bulgarian.

It is believed the gang made more than ? 1,500,000 in profit from the stolen vehicles.

The investigation began after a Spanish citizen complained to the police that he had received several tickets for speeding in places where he had not been driving. After analysing the information, it appeared that there were notable differences between the two vehicles.

Officers concluded that there must be two vehicles of the same make, model and license plate, meaning that one of the vehicles was a fake or "clone" of the original.

The owner of the clone was reportedly a man originally from Bulgaria, who had a record of smuggling stolen vehicles and forging documents. The man and his partner allegedly owned several vehicles in Bulgaria that were also registered in Spain.

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