Spanish authorities have apprehended seven individuals linked to a Bulgarian criminal syndicate notorious for their ability to steal high-value vehicles in under a minute, according to reports from the Center for Corruption and Organized Crime Research (OCCRP).

The suspects, believed to be part of a larger criminal network, specialized in stealing luxury cars, altering their vehicle identification numbers (VIN), and selling them on the international black market. The operation spanned across Madrid and Catalonia, where stolen vehicles were sold for approximately 350,000 euros each.

Equipped with sophisticated tools, the gang could gain access to and steal nearly any car within a minute. Following the thefts, the cars underwent a meticulous process of falsifying identification and chassis numbers, along with obtaining stolen documents from countries like Austria. This allowed the criminals to obscure the true origin of the vehicles, presenting them as legitimate to customs officials.

For each vehicle successfully passed off as legal, members of the gang reportedly earned between 30,000 and 40,000 euros.

The arrests came after Spanish authorities were alerted to the group's activities by the Bulgarian embassy, shedding light on a transnational criminal operation responsible for a significant number of car thefts across Europe.