Reuters

The international police organization Interpol said on October 1 there had been a worldwide surge in car theft, with one vehicle being stolen every 10 seconds. It urged improved cross-border cooperation to combat car thieves. ``Interpol officials worldwide are tracing an ever-increasing rise in vehicle-related crimes,`` said Interpol European Liaison Bureau head Iver Frigaard. `Three million vehicles disappear each year and the criminals make an annual profit of about $19 billion.` In 1999, Interpol said 1.7 million vehicles had been reported as stolen, up from 1.1 million the previous year. Frigaard was speaking at an international conference of law enforcers, insurers and customs officers in Bulgaria`s capital to discuss ways of tackling car theft, smuggling and insurance fraud. He said countries should provide up-to-date information about car crime in Interpol`s data base and use it more efficiently to help their law enforcement bodies fight organized crime groups. Some 80 states use the data base. In the European Union , car theft fell last year with the exception of a few states, said Dirk Vande Ryse from the Stolen Vehicle Group of the Hague-based European Police Organization (Europol). His group was set up to improve anti-crime cooperation between EU members and works in close partnership with Interpol. The worst case within the EU was France where the number of registered car thefts surged by 70 percent in 2000 compared to 1999. Especially worrying was a new trend in Europe of thieves stopping cars and demanding drivers surrender the keys at gunpoint, said Vande Ryse. ``What is most worrying about the European Union is that there is an increase of stolen vehicles, which are not traced. We believe organized crime is responsible for that,`` he said. Most cars stolen in Western Europe are smuggled to Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!